


Welcome Home

by protectbucky



Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Eggsy Unwin Needs a Hug, Eggsy Unwin as Galahad, Eventual Harry Hart | Galahad/Gary "Eggsy" Unwin, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Harry Hart Lives, Harry Hart as Arthur, Hurt Eggsy Unwin, Hurt Harry Hart, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Bad At Titles, Kingsman Family, Kingsman: The Golden Circle Fix-it, M/M, Merlin (Kingsman) Lives, Merlin Is So Done (Kingsman), Merlin is a Little Shit (Kingsman), Not Kingsman: The Golden Circle Compliant, Original Character(s), Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Harry Hart, Pining Harry Hart, Post-Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Short Chapters, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:28:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 31,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23829109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/protectbucky/pseuds/protectbucky
Summary: How do you rebuild an entire legacy?Harry Hart takes on the role of Arthur and defies all expectations, meanwhile he realizes that a certain Eggsy Unwin has a bigger effect on his life than he thought.
Relationships: Harry Hart | Galahad & Gary "Eggsy" Unwin, Harry Hart | Galahad & Merlin, Harry Hart | Galahad/Gary "Eggsy" Unwin, Merlin & Gary "Eggsy" Unwin
Comments: 12
Kudos: 37





	1. Small Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> So I've noticed this ship is kinda dying, so I thought I'd write a fresh Hartwin fic series. Slow burn, lots of missions and stuff. The first chapter is just an introduction to the fic. Y'all can skip it if you want.

Hello everyone!

This is an introductory chapter to my fic, you can skip it, but I think this whole mess is more understandable if you read this chapter.

So this is obviously a fix-it fic, which basically ignores the ending of The Golden Circle. Don’t get me wrong, I fucking loved that movie, and I had no problem with Eggsy and Tilde getting together, but I realized I really am a sucker for Hartwin, so in this story, the princess thing never happened. Or I mean it did, just didn't last for too long.

Also, I have to clarify that this is post- The Golden Circle, but I had to keep the main characters, so (obviously) Merlin didn’t die, neither did Roxy, Percival, or JB. They just weren’t in the exploding buildings, okay?

So that’s it for the story, but there is one more highly important thing. Since the Kingsman are named after the Knights of the Round Table, and I couldn’t find any information of other code names, I’m going to pick my favorite ones of the 52 knight names. Fight me on that. (Also correct me, if anything is canon, I just literally couldn’t find canon code names.)

So let’s start with this rebuild fix-it and slow burn Hartwin!


	2. End of the beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They start by the basics. Rebuilding is not that easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harry reflects at the rebuilding process so far. I also establish my kind of fix-it universe in this chapter.

Rebuilding was hard. Harder than Harry had imagined.

After Merlin woke up in the hospital wing of the Satesman, regained enough energy to think straight, they could start planning the new Kingsman. Harry had never dared to play with the thought that there would come a day like this. When they had to make something out of nothing.

Thankfully, there were some hidden bases that were not documented in the Kingsman database: their departments in Berlin and in some other European countries, or some secret estates in England. Harry was relieved when he heard Roxy’s voice in his glasses after what it seemed like years. She survived, along with Percival, they were just on their way back to the UK after a diplomatic meeting with the department in Germany alongside Bors, who decided to accompany them in the last minute. Probably the best decision of his life.

So it seemed not everything was lost. His home had been demolished, he knew that. The shop was gone, too, but thankfully, many good people of the staff were at their homes at the time of the bombing. The explosion of the shop was noted as a terrorist attack, and Harry couldn’t help but cringe at those words. No terrorist attack would be able to destroy almost the entire Kingsman.

The money they were given by the Statesman was perfectly enough for rebuilding. The shop was new as ever, and the building of the HQ was being built to mimic the original one. The construction was going well, and the Statesman sometimes came to the UK to check on them: not particularly because they were not sure the money was used for the right cause, but more as a friendly gesture, and Harry appreciated that.

He knew what was about to come. He knew that rebuilding in a technical sense wasn’t enough. There were agents to recruit. With Harry taking the position of Arthur, only Galahad, Lancelot, Percival and Bors remained. That meant only five agents out of ten. There were five empty places to fulfill. Harry really thought about it, but the only reasonable decision seemed to be that each of the remaining agents picked five candidates, and set them in different groups, competing for the same agent title. That meant a lot more training than before, but they were basically starting from scrap.

So he picked the top five people from Oxford he could find. He didn’t really care this time, to be honest. Just let the course of things run, he thought, it shall be figured out in a while. He didn’t even go to pick the candidates up like he picked Eggsy from the police station. He was Arthur, for God’s sake, he was sure they would understand that Merlin was the one to pick them up and mentor them through the whole process. A process that only began after the HQ was rebuilt, of course.

Even though Harry knew that being a Kingsman agent came with a lot of perks, especially the perk of a new home, he didn’t put so much money aside for it this time. He bought a nice, cozy, and of course slightly luxurious place in London. A two-story building, with lavish furniture and extremely elegant style. He wanted to be true to himself for some reason. He tried not to think of the painting of a butterfly hanging in the living room when he told the real-estate agent he would be buying the house. Almost central-London, a nice view on the ever-so-busy city, a balcony, and lots of rooms. He wasn’t even sure what to do with all the space.

Eggsy moved back to his mum’s place, helping out in everything, taking care of Daisy whenever he had the chance. Dean was not around anymore, Eggsy made sure he would never come to their place again with smashing a glass into his face. Eggsy told him all of this in a delightful tone, and Harry forgot for a while how he brought this boy into this world of constant danger.

Harry knew Eggsy picked his own candidates from his friends and people he remotely knew from the army, and he didn’t really mind. His thoughts covered anything else but the new candidates. He was sure Merlin could handle all these candidate groups at the same time. He never doubted Merlin’s abilities in all the years he’s worked with him. He was simply glad he still got to see Merlin’s I-know-it-all kind of looks every day.

So Harry was living his life just like he did before, only with a bit more paperwork this time. He would spend all evenings going home to an empty house. He had gotten used to that feeling, he didn’t really mind, He liked his new home, it fit well with an Arthur. Of course, something was missing, but that was no news either. There was always something missing, no matter where he was, Nothing felt like home. But looking at the painting of a butterfly, he believed he could get the old Harry Hart back on track.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like it so far. Do stick around :)


	3. Emptiness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A year has passed since Doomsday. The HQ is finished, the new agents are in training. Harry takes on his first mission as Arthur.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to focus more on Harry's character than the rebuilding process itself.

Harry woke with a rush, a wave of melancholy washing over him, the last bits of a happy dream disappearing behind his eyelids. He got dressed quickly, jumping into his suit and putting on his glasses, ignoring that one eye was darker than the other. He tried not to think about it. Not when he had so many things to do.

He stepped outside his newfound home, which still didn’t feel like the old one, but he was getting used to it. He got into the Kingsman-sent taxi, feeling glad that a lot of their employees never had to stay at the old HQ. The steadiness of his old drivers seemed to always calm him down. They didn’t ask anything as Harry stared out the window of the car and tried to ignore the butterflies that kept disturbing his vision.

When he got to the newly built HQ, Merlin was waiting for him in his office.

“Late again, Arthur” he started. “Finished all the training for today. Ye came just in time to discuss our next mission.”

Of course, life didn’t come to a stop just because one became Arthur. Harry sometimes found himself envying Chester and his lack of field missions, then he realized that getting sat on the bench only came around in a Kingsman’s life if they got old enough and served the agency well. And if Harry honestly thought about it, he got to the conclusion that he would rather die on the battlefield than get old enough to only sit in a chair and make orders. He liked the fact that even though he was the leading force of the agency, he could still go on missions.

So when Merlin told him he has to get on a plane and go to Argentina right away, get some intel on a potential world-ruining psychopath and their neo-nazi terrorist ring, he was more than happy to comply.  
He was already on the private jet when he got Eggsy’s voice message.

“Hey, Harry. I know you gotta be on your super-fucking-secret mission. Wish I could know what it’s about, you know, ‘cause even though I trust Merlin with my life, I’d rather be a part of all the missions, bruv. Could prob’ly learn some more shit, y’know. Anyway, I hope you’re doing well. I’ll see you at the HQ when you get back.”

Harry stared at his phone for a few minutes before Merlin’s voice broke the silence of his brain.

“C’mon, ye old sap, ye gotta jump from a loads of feet above. Better check ye parachute.”

So Harry did, and after quickly running through all the possible ways he could die in the middle of nowhere, he jumped.

When he woke, he had no idea what was going on. He felt a small pain in his left shoulder, but he thought it would be better to believe that pain was caused by pulling a muscle while opening the parachute. He knew, however, that no matter how strange he felt, he would always be able to recall the basics of his training. A man with a butterfly fluttering on his nose stood in front of his cell, holding him captive. The butterfly slowly faded away as the fog left Harry's mind, and only a tall, well-built man remained with bald head and a big, thick beard. He noticed Harry was awake and pressed a button on his transceiver.

Harry shook his head, trying to remember what had happened. He did remember the jump, opening his parachute, but his memory went blank after that. He took in his surroundings: a typical prison cell; one bed, a loo, one little window which let in a dim light. His glasses were nowhere to be found, and he could only hope that whoever took him didn’t discard them, thinking they were just ordinary glasses. Or worse, knowing they were not. If his captors still had them somewhere in the building, Merlin would locate him and send rescue in no time.

He almost had to laugh at the situation. Of course his first mission back from the dead would go like this. Not like he wasn’t prepared, in the past year of building the agency up again he had been training, and he felt like he’d mostly regained the old Galahad. Different name now, but still the same. He was insanely proud that Eggsy got to take on the role of Galahad. Not happy about the reason, but there was no one in the world who could take the role on as well as his boy did. He hoped that they would find him in time. In time so Eggsy doesn’t have to go through that pain again.

Even locked up in a small cell in Argentina, his thoughts wandered towards Eggsy. He looked back at the time when he woke up in a dull white room in Kentucky. The only thing he could remember was his own name. Yet he felt an aching emptiness in his heart. The days went by and before he knew it, the white walls were covered by butterflies. The men with those weird hats gave him books to read, took care of the scar where his left eye used to be. He wished he could remember how he lost it. The weird hat people told him he was shot. He had his weekly check-ups, when a woman would take him to a medical room, and would ask him questions. Half of the questions he knew the answer to: like how was his day, what book is he reading now, does his scar hurt. But the other half, like does he remember anything, can he recall what happened before he got here, does he know the name of any friends or family members: those were the questions he really wished he could answer. So it came as a huge surprise when two men wearing posh suits stormed into his room one day and he could feel the veil of emptiness slowly lifting from his heart.

As he sat in a prison cell in Argentina, the emptiness doomed heavily on him once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was short, too, but I'm kind of just establishing things the way I want them to be. Hope y'all like it, stick around and stay safe! :)


	4. Whiplash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's not the first time he gets thrown into a torture chamber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Hurt Harry Hart times :) (I'm not smiling at all, tbh).

Two days had passed since he first woke up. By now he’d found out that his captor is some kind of weapon-dealer, at least based on the conversation of the guards in front of his cell who switched positions every eight hours. At least as Harry counted. The guards wouldn't tell him the time. They were not very good at conversation. He hoped the rescue mission was coming soon: even though he went over all potential escape plans in his head, none of them had ended well. It bothered him that no one said anything to him yet. He expected to be brought in front of the leader for questioning, but his only company remained the guards, who just passed in the small trail of food each morning. God, what he could give for an English breakfast right now.

On the third morning the guards finally seemed at least a little anxious. That meant the big boss was coming around soon. And he did, his steps thumping heavily on the stone staircase. Big boss had dark, long hair held back by a tight pony tail, a few days growth of stubs that will grow into a nicely shaped goatee if the man lives to see the end of today. Black tank top sticking to his heavy muscles, a golden cross hanging on a thin chain around his neck.

“Very sorry tha’ I couldn’t make it here any sooner” he said in a low voice, covered by a heavy European accent. Harry could hardly identify the country the accent could be from. “Heard from my guys on this island tha’ they shot a folk mid-air when he tried to attack” Harry now suspected the reason behind his memory loss. And the pain in his shoulder. They must have stunned him. Maybe they found it interesting that someone could approach their lair, so they wanted to find out who had the balls. “But when I had to come out here and see it was a male prostitute, I almost lost my shit.”

Harry had gotten used to these kind of insults, so he didn’t even flinch. Instead, he looked the man over. He remembered the files about this place: it wasn't huge, just a smaller mansion hidden away by the green of the jungle. So much gold worn for a man with such a little territory, so Harry guessed he was part of a much bigger ring. Maybe even the boss of it, considering the amount of jewelry that covered him from head to toe. Rings on each finger, chains around his waist, at least two rings in each ear.

“So why didn’t you, as you very eloquently phrased it, lose your shit?” Harry asked with his usual wit. Classic Galahad, he thought. Shit, Arthur. Whatever.

“‘Cause as soon as I saw your pretty clothing and technology, I thought you could be a bit useful for me” the man answered. “My name is Ruben. You landed in my territory. That must mean something. So boys, take him to the chamber.”

Harry was not even a bit surprised when the ‘boys’ lead him down a rocky basement to a room with various torture equipments and one chair in the middle. Classic torture chamber. Just as he expected. The man must have seen a lot of classic movies and decided to get some toys. When they chained him to the chair Harry almost have to laugh. These guys had the torture equipment of a castle from the middle-ages. As soon as his hands couldn't move, the 'boys' rushed outside to guard the seemingly soundproof room, which had a panic button, as Harry noticed, probably for the occasion of a guest overpowering the Big Boss.

The said man walked in the door with slow, lumbering steps. He was oly taller than Harry by an inch, but his body was far bigger. He would have looked like a friendly teddy bear if not for the obvious displays of illegal activity all over his body. And a whip in his hand. A murderer teddy bear.

“So Argentina" he started. Big country. Big enough for you to land your tiny little ass somewhere else. Yet your little plane dropped you off over my land." Harry's heart skipped a beat." You’re lucky enough we couldn’t identify the jet. All your little friends would be dead by now. So my first question is, who dropped you off?”

“Dropped me off?” Harry blinked innocently. “I am terribly sorry to tell you this, but I believe you have got it all wrong, Mr. Ruben. I landed here by myself. I am a lepidopterist. I hired a private plane and I planned to study the rare species of Sulfur Butterflies.”

“That’s ‘quite’ unbelievable, Mr. British guy” Ruben said, trying to mock a british accent, but failing hilariously. “Your equipment and suit is way too professional to belong to a guy who studies butterflies. Now tell me who you’re working with, and how you got to us.”

It wasn’t the first time Harry had been in this situation. So he just rolled his eyes, flashed a polite smile, knowing what was about to come. “I apologize, but I do believe I still have no clue what you are talking about” he said with a plain face.

When he woke up in his cell again, he felt a sharp pain in his sides, caused by Ruben's whip. He decided to ignore the bunch of butterflies feasting on his own blood on the concrete floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Excuse me, English is not my first language, and even though I tried to learn it, I still have no heckin' idea how to use the past tenses correctly. Hope y'all still like it, though! Feel free to drop a comment correcting my grammar mistakes, I don't mind at all!  
> Do stick around! :)


	5. Prison Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rescue arrives.

The fourth time he was taken into the torture chamber, he began to wonder what Merlin and Eggsy were doing. Obviously, he thought about Eggsy on a regular basis, hoping he was fine, hoping he wasn’t thinking the same things that he had to think after Kentucky. But a week had passed, and as far as he knew, Kingsman should be able to locate people in a week. Maybe they didn’t care. Maybe it was easier to get rid of a weakened Harry Hart this way.

As he sat on the floor of his cell, barely conscious, he felt a light wind breeze through the tiny cracks on the brick wall. And he thought he heard the distant sound of screaming, but he was pretty sure it was just another one of his nightmares. He had them pretty often. So he closed his eyes and tried to clear his head. Reminiscing about past memories usually helped soothe his thoughts. This time, the picture of Hyde Park flashed into his mind. He remembered that evening clear as day: it was one of those few times the Kingsman candidates were allowed to take a night off and let off some steam. Being too scared to go home, Eggsy decided to spend the evening with Harry, and Harry was more than happy to offer his companionship. They walked next to each other in a slow pace, JB constantly jumping at their feet. The air was chilly and the trees were losing their leaves. They talked about nothing and everything; Eggsy told him everything about the training, how he loved spending time with Roxy but hated Charlie and his gang for always picking on him. How even though he hated it, it wasn't new. Harry tried not to clench his fists at the thought. Eggsy asked him questions he couldn't answer about the training, so he told the boy about his time in the army instead. It was a great memory. But the distant shouting didn't go away. And when Harry opened his eyes, the guard from in front of his cell was gone. He could see the the red emergency lights fulgurate in the hallway. He couldn’t stop the grin emerging on his face.

After what it felt like a lifetime, a dark figure in a posh suit appeared at the bottom of the staircase. Eggsy, he thought. His boy, coming to save him. And he was right.

In a professional manner, Eggsy looked over every inch of the place, every corner, to make sure there weren’t any guards left. Then as he made his way to Harry’s cell, he fished a bloody key out of his pocket: probably stolen from the guards. He put it in the lock and tried to turn it.

“Fuck, Merlin, I can’t get it open” Harry heard Eggsy’s voice from the other side. He began to realize he might have a mild concussion from his last beating. The cell was spinning a bit. “Okay, Merlin, I know, I was just a tad fucking nervous. I remember now. Leave me alone” Eggsy’s voice rang through the darkness, then Harry heard his door being kicked open.

“Holy shit, Harry, you’re alive, thank God” he heard Eggsy’s voice from a distance. Why was it so distant? The boy was literally standing right next to him. “Fuckin’ ‘ell, Harry, what they done to you? We gotta get you out of here, can you stand?”

Harry opened his mouth to answer, but the words didn’t come out. Only a name did. “Eggsy.”

“Okay, Harry, ‘s okay, grab onto my shoulder. Roxy took care of the rest of them, We’re free to go. We’re gonna get you to the jet. It’s gon’ be okay.”

Harry could master a brief smile at his boy before he passed out again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know all the chapters are really short, but I just realized this is the way I can write more easily. I don't put that much pressure on myself. I just end a chapter whenever I feel like it. Hope it's okay for you guys. As I've said before, stick around for more! :)


	6. Hospital Bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry wakes up in the medical wing of the Kingsman HQ.

He did remember a few things: the softness of Eggsy’s voice and the strength of the boy’s shoulders as he carried Harry out of that cursed place, the sound of a jet plane taking off, the feeling of a sharp needle that probably contained a dose of anesthesia, the blinding lights and the soft bed of the jet plane as they flew him back home. After that, there was only darkness.

He woke in the medical wing, shining white lights blinding his vision, as he searched for the good old red button to press. The button that said ‘come check on me, I’m alive’. Just as his thumb lightly pressed it, he slipped back into the sweet unconsciousness again.

“Eggsy, did ye press the fuckin button?” Harry heard Merlin's voice in the back of his brain.

“No, for fuck’s sake, Merlin, why would I ever do that?”

The noise of the two people talking swam around gently in Harry's mind. He tried to open his eyes but failed.

“Dinnae lad, last time I checked he was out like a rock, don’t think he could press that fuckin’ button.” Merlin’s voice cut through the darkness once again, a little sharper and clearer this time.

“Well then it sounds like you think that I would be playin’ with Harry’s life, don’t it, well let me remind you that last time…” The noise was getting to much. Maybe he could stop it.

“Eggsy” Harry muttered. “Eggsy, please…”

The two men stopped arguing immediately.

“I’ll take it back. Calling medical” Merlin said, as Harry slowly passed out once again. But this time, he felt a light press of warm hands against his palms.

Opening his eyes, all he could see was the good old blinding lights of a medical room. They welcomed him warmly, almost feeling like home. As his vision cleared, he took in his surroundings: the first thing he could see was Eggsy, right next to his bed, sitting in a chair wearing his usual Adidas gear, silently scrolling through his phone. He looked so peaceful when he thought no one was watching him, and for a moment Harry thought he should stay quiet, careful not to alert the boy. Eggsy’s life would be easier without him in it, anyway. But he was really thirsty, and he couldn't contain a light cough escaping his lips. God, his throat felt dry. He raised his hands to reach for the glass of water on his nightstand. Only his they felt like a couple of bricks right now. He could hardly move them.

“Harry, hey, ‘s okay” he heard Eggsy’s surprised but still soothing voice. “Here you go" he said, lifting the glass from the nightstand and carefully placing it in Harry's hands. "Drink up, you’re pretty dehydrated.”

Harry had so many questions. What the hell really happened in Argentina? Could they catch Ruben? Was Eggsy hurt on the rescue mission? But as he gulped down the contents of the glass and tilted his head slightly to look at his boy, all he could master was “How long have you been here?” Great fucking work, Harry Hart.

Eggsy looked at the clock on the wall. “'Bout 28 hours, I guess. You been in and out. Tried to keep you company.”

Even if he tried, Harry could not explain the aching feeling that started in his chest. It felt like a mixture of guilt, sadness and frustration. If he could have just landed on the fucking ground, Eggsy wouldn't have to be here. As the feelings flooded his body, he could see a little yellow butterfly, dancing around happily just above Eggsy's right eyebrow. He stared at it for a while. Then he realized he wanted to say so many things. “Sorry, my boy” he started as the butterfly moved down to Eggsy's nose. “I failed the mission. Risked the lives of both you and Lancelot. I dearly hope you can forgive me.”

“Bullshit, Haz” Harry was surprised at the sudden use of that nickname. The butterfly must have been, too, since it flapped its tiny wings, and moved down to Eggsy's chin. No one had called Harry that before. Especially not Eggsy. “You couldn’t know.”

“I know I couldn't" Harry sighed, staring at the tiny insect. "Harry, look at me" Eggsy said softly. Harry lifted his eyes to meet his. "They're not there, okay?" Eggsy's eyes were even softer than his voice. "'s okay. They're not real. We're okay." The butterfly must have thought so, too, because it fluttered its wings and quickly flew out of Harry's eyesight. Now only Eggsy's eyes remained. And his warm hands holding Harry's. When did Eggsy hold his hand? He realized they had been in this position for too long. "What happened to Ruben?" He remembered suddenly, a new wave of discomfort flowing over him.

“We’re working on it, Harry” Eggsy replied, his voice still kind and soothing. “We’re looking into his organization, trying to find out who he is. We don’t have much yet, but that’s alright, ‘cause you’re safe here, okay?”

Harry nodded. “Now, try to get some sleep. Ya have a shitty concussion to sleep off. I’ll be here, ‘kay?” Nodding once again, Harry closed his eyes and shifted his focus to the feeling of Eggsy's hand in his. Feeling light strokes on his fingers, he fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes again, it was Roxy sitting in the chair by his bed instead of Eggsy. He coughed lightly to bring the woman’s attention to the fact that he was awake.

“Harry, sorry, Arthur" she stuttered. "Galahad just left a few minutes ago. Merlin and I both thought he was in desperate need for a shower and a good night’s sleep, but I'm pretty sure he will be back in a few hours, knowing him he probably didn't even consider sleeping as an option…” Roxy rambled, and Harry couldn’t help but grin. He still remembered that Roxy was, in fact, Eggsy’s best friend.

“It is okay, Roxy." Harry said in a hoarse voice. "We are not on the field, you have my permission to call me by my real name.” Harry could see the tension in Roxy’s shoulder disappear. “Now I do not mean to be rude and make orders right after waking up, but could you please hand me a glass of water? I'm in dire need of it.”

Roxy handed over the glass from the nightstand. “Thank you" Harry said, lifting the glass to his lips. "Now tell me, Roxy, do we appear to know any important information about the man who tortured me?”

Roxy flashed Harry a painful smile, then began talking. The TV screen on the opposite wall to Harry’s bed turned on.

“Ruben Perkins, son of a billionaire, Arlie Perkins” Roxy started. “Partly European origin, specifically Swiss on the mother’s side, American on the father’s. He attended university in Switzerland. Once he graduated, he disappeared from all public files for a few years, until the death of his father.” A picture of a man similar to Ruben, but much older, showed up on the screen. Same dark hair, a bit shorter than his son's. Broad shoulders, so broad his head seemed small. “As far as we could find out, he had a sister, Emily, who died from an unknown illness, just a year before their father’s death." "What exactly did the father earn his fortune with?" Harry asked. "Some of it is inherited, other is listed to be from real estate. But we suspect Ruben took over the weapons deal from his father. That is all we could track down, for now.”

“Thank you, Roxy, great lead" Harry said as the TV went black again. "And I would also like to thank you for saving my life" he added. "And congratulate you, since you and Eggsy executed that mission very well, as far as I could tell.”

“You'welcome, and thank you” Roxy said, the compliment obviously making her blush. “Eggsy texted me, said he is on his way back to the medical bay. I meant when I told you, that boy has not slept at all since you were admitted in here.”

“I will sure talk to him about that” Harry smiled as he heard the door open. “And thank you again, Roxy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Roxy with all my heart so I'm definitely bringing her back later on! Hope you guys are enjoying this mess so far. :)


	7. Ye Screwed Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Harry recovers, they have a meeting to discuss the new enemy they are facing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.K.A. as Harry Hart is really bad with emotions.

Harry felt a remote sensation in his lower back as he stepped outside. The cold air made his bones ache a little, but that was the least of his concerns: his back still hurt a little from all the whip marks Ruben left on him. As his cab neared the shop, he pulled out a prescribed painkiller from the pocket of his suit jacket and popped it in. He was only out of medical for two days, spending a week in the boring white and green room. They could've refournished the medical rooms in the rebuilding, made them a little welcoming. The new valet greetid him in the entrance room. The paintings on the green walls reflected the morning sun. They had a lot to discuss today.

Eggsy and Roxy were already sitting in the conference, facing each other, laughing at something that was probably and inside joke. Harry felt a little sadness trying to make his way over his heart, but he quickly tried to hush it away. But it just crept back in the form of thoughts: Harry felt like even despite the amount of time he spent with Eggsy, the boy’s laughs toward him were not honest, they were just something he would fake. And Harry could see behind them: see the aching fear in Eggsy’s eyes whenever they were together, the fear of Harry disappearing again. Forgetting everything again.

Yet there he was, five minutes late as usual, taking his seat in the chair of the Arthur, smiling at the young agents. “Please turn your glasses on” he said quietly, and he watched with Eggsy and Roxy as only Percival and Bors logged in to the conversation. He remembered when the table was full. The new agents were still in training. Only two rounds left.

“Welcome, everyone” Harry started as the other agents nodded at him. “We have initiated this meeting today to find out more about Ruben Perkins and whatever it is he might be up to. Merlin, do come on in, and share the information you have gathered so far with all of us” he gestured to Merlin, who was standing at the door, tablet in hand.

“Ladies and gentlemen” Merlin started, taking his place below the painting which now turned into a screen. “We managed to find out quite a few things about Perkins in the past few days." The screen displayed a face Harry had known to well. Shivers ran down his spine. "We know for sure that he had inherited most of the fortune he’s workin’ with" Merlin continued. "He was the only one to put his hands on that money, since his sister died a year prior their father’s death, supposedly due to a lethal illness.”

“Prob’ly bullshit” Eggsy interrupted.

“I have to agree” Merlin nodded. “She had no life-threatening illness we could track, and Ruben disappeared for a while from the family tree before the deaths of his father and sister." The picture of the sister showed up on the screen: a young woman, in her early 30s with a round face and soft hazel eyes. Only the thick, dark hair reminded Harry of the rest of her family; otherwise, she seemed to be standing out. Under her picture: Rebecca Perkins, deceased. " We suspect there was something definitely going on there" Merlin added. "We found out that after completing university, Ruben had no further appearances in any media whatsoever until the deaths. Inheriting a fortune from real estate that he supposedly invested in robotics and charity. That is all we know so far.”

“Thank you, Merlin” Harry said, considering the words he just heard. Robotics and charity? The kind of things that could make an illegally dealing man look good in the papers, but also letting them cover as a front for his real activities. The hideout in Argentina was probably inherited from his billionaire father, alongside with the weapon business. A family of illegal deals. Harry wondered what the woman had done that lead to her being the black sheep in the family. “I believe that we, as all remaining agents, should work together on this case" he spoke up finally. "There doesn't seem to be a bigger threat to our security at this point, so I would like to request that in twenty-four hours we meet again. Until then, I would like to give you all the task of tracking down as much as you can about this new enemy. Dismissed.”

Everyone turned their glasses off. "Merlin, anything else concerning the HQ?" Harry turned to the man who just turned off his tablet. "Not that I know of. And I would know." Harry had no doubt about that. "Training's goin' well" Merlin continued." I'm seeing the remaining candidates this afternoon for their parachute tests." The hint of a smile twinkled on his face. "Any hopeful candidates so far?" Harry asked. "You know I'm not allowed to say" Merlin replied. "I better get goin'. I'll talk to ye later. Take care, Arthur." And he was gone, along with Roxy, who politely gathered her belongings during their conversation, pretending she wasn't listening at all. Only Eggsy remained in his seat, deep in thought. Harry studied his face for a second, careful not to startle him. It was unusual for Eggsy to get this lost in his head.

“I know something is bothering you, my boy” Harry started quietly, finding it hard to look into Eggsy's eyes. “You could always tell me, if you would like.”

A long, uncomfortable silence followed. Unusual, once again, since their silences never seemed to feel uncomfortable. At least not to Harry, that's for sure. He looked down in his hands, considering speaking up again.

But then Eggsy replied, voice barely above a whisper. “I just don’t want you to get hurt like that again, y’know?”

Harry felt that familiar little twinge in his chest. Eggsy shouldn't be that concerned about him. He should be focusing on himself, enjoying every last bit of each tiring mission, as Harry did in his youth. Without ties. Without attachment.

Yet he didn't want to sound bossy, so he considered his words. “It is a risk of the job we all decided to take" he spoke slowly. "We have to learn to live with the fact that we can not know for certain when our journeys shall come to an end” he said, turning his head to face the reconstructed paintings of their founders on the wall. Unable to face Eggsy.

“Yeah, you’re right” Eggsy stood, sounding... disappointed? Hurt, maybe? Harry liked to think he knew Eggsy very well, but he was also aware of the fact that he never had to deal with as many human emotions as he did ever since he met the boy. Sometimes, he could hardly figure out what he saw behind Eggsy's gentle green eyes. “I gotta go" Eggsy broke the silence. "JB won’t walk himself. Also gotta pick up some candy for Daisy. Want her to be really happy once in a while, y’know” he rambled. “Anyway, see you around, ‘arry.”

And just like that, he was gone. Harry sat there for a while, trying to process what just happened. Maybe Eggsy was looking for a different response. For comfort, reassurance, Harry telling him he's not going to get himself in trouble again. Yet denied him. His words sounded so nonchalant, now that he looked back at them. He only wanted to tell Eggsy that he had to accept that in their field of job, death could come in knocking every day. But he didn’t want to make the boy feel like he didn’t care. He did. So much.

“Shit” he hissed. “I fucked up.”

“Ye did, lad” Melin’s voice came ringing through his ears. Before he could even scream at Merlin, the man continued. “Yeah, don’t get too carried away that ye forget to turn ye glasses off next time, Arthur.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like this fic. Stay tuned for more! :)


	8. Alright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry makes a drunk call.

By the time Harry opened the door of his home, darkness had already set in. There were barely any stars visible on the sky above the the smog-filled London air. Since Harry had finished most of his paperwork right in the conference room, he had nothing else to do other than researching his kidnapper and his organization. At the end of the meeting, after Eggsy stormed off, he felt like he was tied to his chair, unable to move. After a short, but well-intended 'get a hold on your emotions' scolding from Merlin, he turned off his glasses and hung up on the man. He didn't need the scolding right now. All he needed was to tell Eggsy that he was sorry; that he didn't mean to shut him off. Yet each time he tried to think over the events rationally, he ended up believeing all the same: that he was a burden, not only to his boy, but to everyone around. Obviously, he hadn't been the same since Kentucky. And he noticed a change, a shift in which Kingman operated. Before it all, when everything was normal (at least according to their definition of the word), the protocol was simple: no emotions, only after the actual missions had been done. Yet after everything, everyone seemed to accept and show emotions a lot more. He knew Merlin became less strict about this protocol and he wondered if the man changed his beliefs in this area because of the events in Kentucky.

Stepping into his empty house, taking in the echoing silence, he sort of wished he'd kept the dog Eggsy bought him in the states. He gave it up for the new candidates to choose from instead, not feeling ready to take on such a responsibility after just regaining his memories. He felt as if he would only mess up another being's life. He had no idea which candidate ended up picking the dog, but he didn't mind: taking care of himself was more than enough activity each day. He decided that dwelling on the past might not be the best idea at the moment, so he made himself a Martini and headed for his office. As he took in the sight of the empty walls, he remembered Eggsy telling him he had taken his headlines off the wall after the boy thought Harry had died. Started collecting his own. Only hung up three before the place turned to dust.

The new office was painted plain white, which made Harry feel uneasy. The hidden gun cabinet on the wall was built the same way as the original. He sat behind his desk, putting his drink down on the dark brown surface. Starting up his laptop, he took a sip, and began researching anything Ruben Perkins had done in the past few years. After a few hours of useless typing, he decided to get another drink.

He found himself stumbling back to his office a few martinis later, now with a beer in hand. He was kind of dizzy, yet he knew he had to show up in the conference room in less than ten hours, with new information he didn’t know how to get. He was pretty sure Percival and Roxy put their heads together and found some minor details that could be valuable. He was also sure that Eggsy was too busy with Daisy and the boy was hoping that the mystery would be solved without him. Harry knew this wasn’t ignorance on Eggsy’s side: he was the only one who had a steady family to welcome him home. A family which thought he was a tailor. A family, no matter how broken, was still more than Harry felt like he had these days. His old folks passed years ago and he didn't have any siblings. After his father got injured in the army, the family moved from their luxurious central-London home to a mansion outside a smaller town; having finished school already, despite the protest of his parents, Harry enlisted in the army a few years later. Then Kingsman came along, Harry was constantly stopping the world from going to shit, and by the time his parents reached their final years, they felt like strangers to Harry. He knew he had an advantage, being born to rich parents, yet it didn't seem to lessen his pain when he thought about their cold stares and empty gazes.

It's been a while since he had time to contemplate on his upbringing. A few drinks really does that to you, huh? He realized he was feeling extremely lonely.

“So what made ye call me in the middle of the night?” Merlin’s voice rang through the glasses Harry had put on a few minutes ago.

“M’rlin” Harry said with a smile. “You know that you’re my oldest and best friend, right?”

“Yeh, also as yer oldest and bestest friend, I have to proclaim two things before we carry this conversation any further. Number one: I am not old at all, almost the same age as ye are. Number two: I know that ye are drunk. Martinis, if I had to guess.”

“As I said, you know me all to well” Harry said, tongue fumbling at every second word. “I believe you could help me out a little bit.”

“About what, your problems with Eggsy? Ye both are clear as day, grow up” Merlin shot back.

“No, what? I have no idea what you’re talking about. I meant help me with the mission. The research. I’m Arthur, for God’s sake.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot ye’d been always incapable to do ye research” but after Harry’s angry grunt, Merlin changed his mind. “Ye know I got it, Harry. Covered every steps and traces. Lot more than I had shown to ye today. He does not seem like an immediate threat, so I tried to get the team involved.”

“Very thoughtful of you” Harry said dryly “I’ll see you in the conference room tomorrow” he continued as he turned his glasses off.

Problems with Eggsy? Harry had no idea what Melin was talking about. Okay, sure, he knew he had hurt the boy, but he was going to apologize tomorrow. And everything would be fine. Right?

He crawled in under the covers of his lonely double bed, hoping it was goning to be okay.


	9. Bye, Haz

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eggsy prepares to finish the mission Harry had started. Harry is not sure if it's the best idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kingsman. Protective. All I have to say.

Deep breaths. It is going to be okay. Harry tried to regain contol of his thoughts as he stood in front of the conference room. Eggsy and Roxy were already inside, sitting in their designated chairs, and Merlin was standing by his side, seemingly getting more and more impatient. Harry wondered what the man was thinking, especially after their conversation the previous night. He had a feeling it's going to take a lot of strenght to get through this meeting today.

“Good morning" he said as he opened the door and stepped inside the room. “I am terribly sorry for being just as late as usual. Traffic was a disaster, even for a Kingsman cab.”

“Or you just asked them to make a stop at your favorite fish and chips place, as usual” Eggsy murmured under his breath, only for Harry to hear. And Harry heard, but tried his best to ignore it.

“Anyway, I am pretty sure that by now you have all done your research I asked for yesterday and sent it to Merlin" he gestured towards the door where the man was standing. "Merlin, do come in and tell us what we have found.”

Merlin walked in the room, slow and steady, his glasses turned on already. He gestured for the others to put them on too and he pressed a button on the remote control, which made the painting above the fireplace transform into a screen. Harry couldn't help but smile a little; even after having to start over, Merlin implemented the same old, trustworthy Kingsman techniques.

“What we know about Ruben Perkins so far” Merlin started, interrupting Harry's train of thoughts. “The things I said yesterday happened to be correct. Ruben's father and sister dying, him bein’ the only one to inherit any fortune. But to shine a new light on the case, yesterday’s researches came in handy. Some of you have found out that he is in fact in a relationship with a woman. He has been for the past four years. If it wasn’t from the prying eyes of Galahad and his ways of using social media as a source, we wouldn’t have found out.”

Eggsy grinned proudly, and even though it took Harry by surprise, he smiled at his boy. So Eggsy did take his time to do some reserch after all. This time, Harry was the one that flunked it. That's never happened before.

“Anyway” Merlin continued. “I sent the files to all of you before coming in here, with the instructions for your next mission. Please check tem out and prepare yourselves. We're in for a hell of a fight. ”

Merlin nodded to Harry, signaling that he was done with speaking. Harry rose from his chair and turned his glasses off. “Well, you've heard Merlin. You have your orders now. Dismissed” he added as he watched everyone turn their devices off. Roxy and Eggsy gathered their mission files and stood, too.

“Eggsy," Harry called after the boy, "for a moment, if you please." Eggsy's head snapped up at the sound of his own name, but he didn't look Harry in the eye.

"Is this about the mission?" He asked instead, fumbling around with the papers in his hands.

"Not quite" Harry replied. "I wanted to adress our conversation from yesterday." Harry hoped that could make Eggsy stay. Merlin turned away respectfully, pretending to do some work. But to Harry's surprise, Eggsy simply looked at the door and shook his shoulders.

“Sorry, ‘arry" he said quietly. "Gotta go, check out the mission files. I wanna be prepared." And just like that, Eggsy turned and made his way to the exit. Harry knew he was going to the tube: he could have stopped him, he could have gone after him and tell him he had screwed up. But he stayed in place, staring at the door for a few seconds before looking up at Merlin.

“So you know that I am far from the mood of reading through incredibly long files. Do proceed to tell me what they are about.” Harry said as he looked over at Merlin, seeing a sympathetic, sad smile on the man's face. Surprisingly, instead of asking any questions or telling him off, Merlin simply began to read out the mission files.

“So as we know so far, the lad who captured ye is located in Argentina, in the place ye had been thrown off previously. He got all eyes on his territory; many guards. We were able to find out based on ye’s, Galahad’s and Lancelot’s glass recordings, that he is a part of a weapons race much bigger than himself." Merlin closed the mission files, making eye contact with Harry. "Not to say that the weapon’s he’s selling ain’t good; mosty saying that the weapons are based on the works of other manufacturers who he might had kidnapped, or worse, killed. None of these blueprints are original, that’s what we have for sure.”

Harry could feel the anger in his stomach boil. He was kidnapped by the son of a billionaire who sold stolen weapons. Figures. Yet he collected himself and nodded for Merlin to continue.

“So lad deals with fake weapons at a what he sure thinks is a safe place, yet we’d found him" the man shook his head. "No news, Arthur. Just another maniac we gotta take down. We've seen this before."

Yes, they have, Harry remembered each and every mission clear as day. The best and the worst. Sure, a weapon trading maniac would not be a big deal for the old Galahad. But now, as Arthur, even though he was in charge, he felt more powerless than ever. “Who are we sending for the mission?” Harry asked patiently, yet not being able to ignore the growing discomfort on Merlin’s face.

“I was thinking Lancelot and Galahad" Merlin replied, raising his hands in defense already. "They're fresh blood, Arthur, fresher than any of us. Obviously we cannot send the trainees, they are not done yet. But I trust that Lancelot and Galahad are an incredible pair.” Merlin's face revealed he was well aware of Harry's thoughts and feelings about this situation. They have been friends for decades, after all.

Of course he wouldn’t be sent there, Harry thought. He had just recovered, he couldn’t risk getting injured like that again. Those people had some strong defense, as far as he could tell. And he knew the only option remaining was sending Eggsy and Roxy, but since he had been captured and tortured by Ruben before, he knew his guys were not messing around.

“Are you sure the same thing won't happen to them as it had happened to me?” Harry asked, voicing his thoughts, but trying to free his words from concern.

“Well, ye know we can never be a 100% sure” Merlin replied. “But ye knoe they saved the world, both of 'em. Wish ye could been around to see what Galahad did on that mission. He basically saved the entire planet from going to shits. Both him and Lancelot had. I trust 'em with this mission, Arthur, but if ye dinnae like or agree, we could change the plans.”

Harry fell into deep thought for a few minutes. Yes, he knew and he was sure that both Eggsy and Roxy were ready; yet he felt unsure as he had never seen them on the field. Bullshit, his mind reminded him, he had seen Eggsy, fighting like a true Galahad in the middle of nowhere, saving (Harry) the world once again. Harry had to let them go on this mission. He knew they would be capable.

“I apologize, Merlin, I do have a few moments when I fall back into someone I sould not be” Harry said. “I shall trust your judgements since you had spent more time with these young agents than I ever got to. I do trust your decision of sending them on this mission.”

Merlin nodded, aware that this was his clue to walk out. Harry spent a few more hours in the conference room, running through the files, knowing that time was running out. He was aware, he knew Melin had made it sure that it stood on the top of the papers when Eggsy and Roxy would be leaving for the mission: tomorrow, 8PM. That left Harry less than 24 hours to prepare for what’s about to come. Hopefully prepare Eggsy, too.

The next morning when Eggsy knocked on his door, he rushed to open it.

“Fuck, ‘arry, I thought you were in trouble” Eggsy stated with a heavy sigh as he had taken in the perfectly healthy Harry Hart opening the door for him.

“And whatever did make you think that, my boy?” Harry asked as he stood aside so Eggsy could make his way into his house, kicking his white Adidas shoes off.

“I dunno, maybe your voice message half an hour ago that said you wanted to see me? The last time before you left, you wanted to see me ‘cause I stole a fuckin’ taxi and, as I quote, humiliated you in front of your boss, no matter that Dean was beating my mum.” Eggsy blurted out, and Harry had heard and registered all the words, yet he couldn’t help to focus on a white and black striped butterfly, fluttering its wings on Eggsy’s forehead. What type was that? He had forgotten. Being back at Kingsman and unable to study his butterflies (except for the time he sat down on the toilet) really made all the difference. He couldn’t even remember many species he had studied before. Come on, Harry, it was on the wall. The wall of your room. You can surely remember. Come on, Harry. Harry. Harry!

“Harry!” He heard as his vision faded back to normal. To Eggsy standing in his living room, arms crossed, yet Harry couldn’t remember what they had just been talking about. Eggsy’s voice rang through the darkness of his brain and shed a brief way to the light to cut through everything else. “Harry, are you seeing them again?”

He knew what Eggsy was referring to. In the past year, Eggsy and Roxy had been training him, only to gain his stamina and control back again. They both kept focusing on the goal ahead, while the training was being done. No time for chatter or small talk, He had gotten used to it, even with Eggsy. Before that, the boy looked up on him like Harry was shitting diamonds or something. After he had come back from the dead with an eyepatch and muscles unable to comply in the old-fashioned Kingsman way, Eggsy had looked at him differently. Like Harry was a vase, able to break at any moment if someone was about to push him off the table.

“I am really sorry, my dear boy” Harry started, trying to get his own vocals back on track. “I believe I had gotten lost in a train of thought.”

“Bullshit” Eggsy simply stated. “Your so called ‘train of thought’ lasted for at least five minutes, while you’ve been standing above the brewing pot that has been done for nearly two minutes.” Harry was surprised at Eggsy’s precision. “So are you seeing them again? The butterflies?”

The question left Harry feeling strange, really. Even though in the course of the past year, while he tried to work through everything that had happened to him, with his colleagues being by his side, the different butterflies on their faces or around them didn’t bother Harry at all. He knew it was going to take some time for him to recover. He was seeing a psychologist. He was also taking his prescribed medication. Yet nothing could prepare him for this moment, when instead of the usually colorful butterflies that somehow always seemed to land on Eggsy’s face, he saw a butterfly without color, only white and black.

“You cannot go, my boy” Harry whispered. “You cannot leave. Not for this mission. It is dangerous. I will contact Merlin about this, just please-”

“Please what, ‘arry?” Eggsy shot back angrily. “Please don’t go on a mission you can totally handle because I simply don’t believe in you? Is that what you were trying to say?”

“My boy, you know that is simply not true-”

“Stop” Eggsy said, not looking at Harry. “I’m sorry. I should’ve known you don't fully trust me. I gotta get home now, prepare for tomorrow’s mission. Bye, Haz.”

The nickname cut through Harry’s heart as a knife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i usually write these drunk so excuse their shittiness


	10. East is Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Galahad and Lancelot take on the mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah the title really is inspired by twenty one pilots i'm just really bad at naming things

There was nothing left to do but to join Merlin in the tech office of the HQ. Lancelot and Galahad’s plane left an hour ago: Harry has been counting the minutes since he got in the tube and arrived at the HQ.

“So what have you done this time?” Merlin asked upon his arrival. "Eggsy seemed pretty upset before he left."

“Not a thing I would like to tell you about” Harry replied. “I just want to know they're safe. Get the screens running.”

Merlin nodded silently, turning on all the screens on his table, currently displaying the location of the plain on a map of vthe world. They both sat in silence as the plane approached Argentina, neither of them knowing what to say. Harry knew Merlin wanted to comfort him, but they had never been the men of words, especially not since their training, which taught them that they had no time for emotion. But Eggsy and Roxy were about to lend in Argentina, in the dark, and Harry was feeling more hopeless than ever. They all agreed landing at night was less predictable. And even though Harry trusted Eggsy with his life, he was still scared, worried that he's too far away, and if anything would happen to the boy, he'd be too late.

The display on the screens changed to show the view of Galahad and Lancelot's glasses as they arrived at their landing spot. They had been dropped off a long distance away from Ruben's territory, at least enough so the guards and security alarms would not notice them right away. Unfortunately that meant they had to land in the water, far from the fortress they had to take down. Yet neither of the glasses showed any sign of trouble, just two people swimming towards the shore. As soon as they reached the beach, they both visibly shuddered.

“I turned on the fast heating for ye” Merlin spoke into the comms. “Brand new feature. Decided to make it after Galahad had to crawl his way out of the sewers to get to the princess" Merlin grinned. Thought he could use some freshening next time, since that relationship one didn’t quite work out.”

Harry tried to ignore the soft ache he felt in his chest. Yes, he knew Eggsy had dated a princess for a while before he decided they should remain just friends. Months before Kentucky. Harry never understood how Eggsy could miss out on an opportunitíy like this. He could have become a literal prince, leaving Kingsman behind. Living a normal life, not being in constant danger. Yet when Tilde asked him for a bigger commitment, Eggsy backed away. Harry wished he could understand. But all he could get right now is that Eggsy had climbed through a sewer for Tilde. Something the boy would never do for someone as old and broken as Harry Hart.

“Okay, Merlin, we’re on shore, dry as we can be” he heard Eggsy’s voice through the glasses on display. He also saw sand and feet, presumably and probably Roxy’s. The moon lit the beach just enough for the agents to see without turning on their night vision of the glasses.

“Okay, now ye gotta head south according to me coordinates.” Merlin’s voice replied. “You okay there, Arthur?” Merlin asked, and Harry noticed he suddenly turned their microphones off.

Harry could feel Merlin’s eyes on him, sharp as a knife, cutting through the defences he had pulled up during the years. Merlin knew him well, presumably better than anyone in his life. He watched as Harry had gone through the Lancelot-training many years ago, watched as he missed the bomb. Didn’t say anything as Harry brought Eggsy in, Lee Unwin’s son, even after all those years Harry could not bring the name of Unwin to his mouth. Merlin supported him regardless.

So the best that Harry could do right now, is to watch and trust Merlin as the man gave orders to Galahad and Lancelot. He thought he understood the immense stress Merlin was under, but as he watched the action from this side, he realized he was wrong. Seeing the whole process from the viewpoint of someone who was responsible for directing the agents, he felt the weight of responsibility looming heavily on his shoulders. So he nodded slightly, trying to pretend like he was okay, but the thoughts from his past haunted him all along. He turned his attention back to the screens, noticing three little butterflies dancing happily on Merlin's keyboars.

As Merlin navigated Eggsy and Roxy through the woods, Harry thought about the fact that he wasn’t even able to land here. A proud smile spread over his face as he watched the younger agents following the orders, making it safe and sound to a mansion in the middle of the jungle, further than Harry got the time he tried. A mansion that was surrounded by guards, that is.

“Okay, Galahad, Lancelot, could ye see the eastern entrance of the mansion?” Merlin spoke into the comms. Both agents made a movement Harry could only assume was nodding. “Good" Merlin continued, his eyes focused on the screen, hands on the keyboard. "Now Lancelot, when I give the signal, head towards that entrance. Galahad, back Lancelot up. Then as ye take the guards down, head to the western entrance. Ye cannot see it from here, but it is just on the coordinates I sent to ye glasses. Now get to work.”

Harry knew the first gunshot was made by Lancelot, making her way to the eastern entrance of the building complex. Yet he could not tell who the next shots were fired by: there must had been at least a hundred as Eggsy and Roxy took the guards down so Roxy could make it to the door of the eastern wing. Harry watched on the screen as she pushed the door open, entering a dark hallway. "I'm in" Roxy proclaimed.

As soon as Eggsy tried to move, though, there were at least fifteen soldiers in army gear pointing their guns at him. The glasses showed the young agents looking around, taking in his surroundings, trying to count the amount of people he'll have to take down. The situation seemed hopeless. There were too many of them opposed to one single agent.

“It’s okay, we should all calm down" Eggsy's sarcastic voice rang through the comms. Harry would have rolled his eyes if he wasn't too worried. "Maybe negotiate” Eggsy added, but before he could make any more witty remarks, the screen went completely black.

“Lancelot, Galahad has lost connection” Merlin spoke to Roxy through the glasses. “It appears the opposite forces were stronger than expected. He seems to be captured. We have the location of his glasses, let's hope he still has them on.” Harry's heart was beating in his throat at this point. His hands trembled as he held on to his chair for support. This couldn't be happening.

“Fuck" Roxy shouted without any filter. "I will rescue him, Merlin, just lead the way.”

Harry expected Merlin to tell Roxy off, saying that the mission comes first, but Merlin typed some things into the computer and began navigating Roxy right away. Even though Merlin chose to put Eggsy's life as a priority over the success of the mission, Harry still felt like he wasn't contributing anything. As he was pacing behind Merlin's chair, clutching his fist, trying to gather himself, it became clear that he needed to take action.

“Get me a plane, Merlin” Harry ordered. “I can't wait around like this anymore. I feel obligated to rescue our agents”

“Obligated, yeh?” Merlin said mockingly, but as soon as he noticed the painful look on Harry’s face, his tone turned into a more serious one. “Yer private jet is waiting on the runway, Arthur. The coordinates are already typed in and I ordered yer pilot to push those limits and be fast as they can. Hope ye understand I cannoe go with ye.”

Harry nodded, glad he didn't have to explain himself any more to Merlin. The man didn't ask any further questions. Harry was sure he typed the coordinats into the jet's system as soon as Eggsy was captured, knowing he wouldn't be able to stop Harry once he made up his mind. So Harry rushed down the corridors straight to the runway, ran up the stairs of the private plane and immediately started to look for his weapon of choice. Nothing bad could happen to his agents. Especially not to Eggsy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What happens to them on this mission? Facing a new enemy?  
> Hope y'all are still enjoying it, excuse me for any grammar mistakes, English is only my second language.
> 
> However, stick with me for more!


	11. Hell of a Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry goes to the rescue.

Harry was standing at the door of the plane. Afhours of immense anxiety, pacing aroubd, asking Merlin if he had any news about Eggsy, he could finally see the outlines of the island in the morning sun. Black and white butterflies swam across his vision and his stomach felt heavy. It just wasn’t right. The butterflies used to be colorful.

“Harry, we know you want to study butterflies” a sharp-dressed woman’s voice sounded in his ears. When he looked around he was faced with white walls, a single bed and a huge mirror. He felt too seen. “But don’t you want to be more?" The woman asked. "Join an army? Or an agency? Your gymnastics skills are remarkable. You're skilled.”

“I don't.." Harry replied, confused. "I don't understand what you're referring to. I want to be a lepidopterist.”

“Leave him alone, Ginger” a man with one of those funny hats stepped in to the room. With his white hair and absentmindedly trimmed beard he looked older than the rest of these people Harry had met so far. Maybe this one was their leader. “Focus on what's important. We have a spot opened at the table. Maybe Whiskey won’t vote against you this time.” The woman sighed, then stood up straight, facing the older man.

“He probably will" she said in a sarcastic tone. "I’m pretty sure he hates me for reviving him so many times." And just like that they left, leaving Harry alone with that big, uninviting mirror and the butterflies that were resting on it.

A familiar voice interrupted his thoughts. "Harry, ye hear me?" Merlin asked through the comms. Harry shook himself once so he could get back to the present as much as possible.

“Yes, Merlin.” he replied, straightening his glasses and tie, looking himself over once again before going to the rescue.

“You know that Galahad and Lancelot had to swim to reach the island" yes, of course. It's only been a few hours. Harry remembered it all. "You make no exception" Merlin said cautiously. "You think you can make it?"

“I suppose.” Harry shrugged. “Does that mean I will have to jump?”

“Yeah, lad, pretty sure ye have to jump” Merlin said. “Pretty soon actually, yer only a few meters away from the spot.”

So Harry checked his parachute once again and he threw his body into the emptiness below him. He felt the cold waves crash against his skin as he landed in the ocean, further from the shore than he would've liked. Chills ran over his body as the cold penetrated his bones and he shivered as he did his best to stay afloat. He had to make it to the shore. Eggsy's life was in danger. He took a deep breath, gathered all the strenght in his body and began to swim. His glasses displayed the right direction. He heard Merlin's voice in his comms once again. “Okay, Arthur, keep swimming. As soon as ye get to the beach, I'll activate the heating in yer suit. I can see the cold isn't doing ye any good. Yer vitals are looking miserable." Harry would've muttered a sarcastic 'thank you' if he wasn't so focusedon not drowning. "It's been a few hours since Lancelot had entered the building" Merlin continued. "She has not been captured, I have a constant contact with her through the glasses. But I asked her to back off a bit until ye arrived. I believe two agents are better than one. These lads are a tough nut to crack.”

Harry made it to the shore in what seemed like a lifetime, but according to his glasses it only took ten minutes. As he tried to catch his breath, standing in the wet sand. His suit suddenly filled with heat, overcoming his entire body, sending shivers down his spine. He made a mental note to thank Merlin for the heating invention. Just as he did that, the man's voice came through his glasses.

“Okay, Arthur" Merlin said. "Ye gotta head through the jungle. Watch out for the landmines. Use your detector.” Of course, the landmines. Those things almost cost his best friend's life the last time. He turned on the detector feature of the glasses. Entering the jungle, keeping an eye out for danger, he realized he missed the thrill of these missions. Not knowing what was about to come next. The excitement and nervousness. Yet he couldn’t really enjoy it this time. The thought of his boy being abducted rang heavily on his heart. The forest was silent, only the sound of insects breaking through the air.

“So, ye still have the backstage tickets to the Elton John concert next week?” Merlin asked in his glasses out of nowhere.

“What the fuck, Merlin" Harry exclaimed, "I am literally in the middle of a jungle right now to take down some weapon-dealing idiot. There has to be a better time to ask me about all of this" he sighed, knowing Merlin just wanted to ease his mind. It obviously didn't work.

“Ye right, lad, just askin’ because ye were planning to go with Eggsy, if I’m observant enough” Merlin replied. Was this supposed to count as motivation? Harry didn't know.

“Yes, Merlin. About that, I believe the first optional step would be to rescue the boy.” Harry shot back. "I'm approaching the building. Still in the jungle, the guards cannot see me yet. Any ideas?”

“I believe if ye take down the guards ye can enter the same way Lancelot did" Merlin suggested. "On the East side. There is no one to back ye up, so ye gotta be careful.”

Harry took in the sight of the guards nearby. He remembered from the route from the footage of Roxy entering the building. He had to take down at least ten guards at once, so instead of running to the middle of the battlefield, he reached for the Kingsman face lotion in his pocket. A powerful weapon, for sure. Whoever invented it had to be a genius. He pulled it out and rolled the little cap down, tossing it in the direction of the guards. First he heard a loud explosion, then a splashing sound, then complete silence set in; the guards had been frozen. Harry quickly scanned for vital signs with his glasses and when he found none, slid out of his cover and ran up the stairs, reaching the east door and pushing it open.

“Okay, Arthur” Merlin's voice appeared again. “Ye gotta keep south. I lined up the route on ye glasses. Lancelot is not that far away.”

Okay, so the mansion was bigger than Harry had thought. The stairs led to another gate, which protected a huge garden. The mansion itself was still at least an hour ahead, taking in count the guards and every possible obstacles.

“Merlin, this is insane” Harry stated.

“I know, Arthur" he heard the reply, "I warned ye not to go. Do ye want to rescue Galahad or not? Because if so, Lancelot is just past this garden ahead.” Harry ignored Merlin's remark and jumped into action. He quietly sneaked past the door of the garden and took down the guards one by one with grace: not making too much noise, just the necessary amount. The first pair didn’t even notice him as he sneaked up on them: he snapped the neck of the first guy, attacking from behind, then he shocked the second. The rest realized he was there because of the screaming of the shocked guard, so Harry had no time to waste. His goal was hangin cleat in front of his eyes: save Eggsy from torment and finish this mission and this weapon ring once and for all. So as the rest of the guards attacked, he felt prepared. He felt the old spark, lighting the olf fire inside of him. The adrenaline rush that came with saving the world. The garden fell silent after his attack.

Harry stood there, unconscious bodies surrounding him, and listened to his own breath. He had blood on his hands, and some things that seemed like broken, fragile little wings. It was just like Kentucky all over again. He never wanted to kill those people in that church. “Arthur" Merlin called. "Now head North, then West at the first entrance. Ye will find Lancelot in there." That was enough for Harry to snap out of his despair. His agents needed him. He had to get moving.

He walked up a few stairs from the garden, leading into a small side-building, which looked like another guard outpost. Yet there were no guards to be found, only a couple of bodies scattered across his sight. Harry realized that most of the emergency guards must have ran towards him after Roxy took the first wave down. He entered the building, his gun held high. When a figure stepped out of the dark, he almost fired.

“It’s me, Arthur” Roxy quickly reassured him. She looked intact, aside from a few bruises on her face and arms. Harry had never been so happy greeted by another agent. “Very glad you could make it" Roxy whispered. "These people have an incredibly wide-range of weaponry, I don’t think I could've taken them alone.”

“Glad I could stop by, Lancelot” Harry remarked with a smirk, sounding way more confident than he was feeling. “Do you have any idea where they had taken agent Galahad?”

Roxy shook her head. “No, I don't, but let's find out.”

“Ye see, the mansion is just ahead” Merlin’s voice interrupted. “This was s’posed to be the last outpost, but ye took it down. The mansion will be protected, though. Once ye exit this building, prepare for some heavy resistance.”

“Okay, but where are we headed then?” Harry asked. “Where are the cells?”

“Calm down, lad, the routes will be sent into yer glasses in time. Focus on taking this bunch down right nae.” Merlin replied.

Right, step by step. Harry locked eyes with Roxy and nodded at the agent, and they began to make their way towards the mansion. Their route was guarded, but they took the enemy down quietly. The entrance was also heavily covered, located in the middle of the terrain. Roxy quickly informed Harry that her and Eggsy had already used shock weapons on the guards so they might be expecting that. For a brief moment, Harry felt like he was out of ideas, but then the solution came to his mind and he smiled.

“How about we cause a hell of a storm, Lancelot?” Harry asked, and after a confused nod Roxy gave him, he reached for his pocket and pulled out an impact grenade. Newest Kingsman prototype, he was the first to use it, that's why he almost forgot about it. It was supposed to cause an explosion five times bigger than any Kingsman grenade before. He swung his arms and threw the bomb just in the middle of the open area.

As the flames burned out, Harry and Roxy stepped out from their cover and looked up at the huge, lavish mansion.

Harry crossed his fingers and hoped they were still in time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's my 20th birthday today. Gimme some love.


	12. You Took Something From Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rescue succeeds.

“Okay, this is gonna be the last wave of ‘em” Merlin said. “There are five guards by the entrance to the left, seven to the right.”

Harry looked at Roxy and quickly nodded his head to the left, urging her to take that direction. Roxy understood and drew out her gun, aiming at the guards already. Harry did the same and they split up, both approaching their targets. Harry knew why he took to the right; getting the bigger challenge meant he could still prove to himself that he wasn't just as rusty as he thought. He proved to be clean of that imaginary rust, after all;he took down the personnel in under a minute. He met Roxy in the entrance hall of the mansion. He looked around and realized he never got to see all this luxury Ruben was hoarding up in here. He only saw the cold, unforgiving walls of his prison cell, and occasionally the torture room. From this angle, the place looked so different: even though it was a bit too much for Harry's taste with all the granite statues and grandious paintings decorating the hall, he still had to admit it was kind of homey.

Merlin informed them that there was a back door down one of the hallways that led to the basement which held the prison cells. Roxy agreed to go downstairs and free Eggsy while Harry went to look for Ruben. Even though he wanted nothing more than to see the boy again, Harry knew Roxy was more than capable of rescuing Eggsy. He still had Ruben to take care of.

When Roxy disappeared, Harry headed up the giant staircase, gun in his hand. He took in the view once he got upstairs. Spacious hallways, expensive displays all around. Harry's stomach turned as he thought how much blood mush stick to each item, bought with money that was earned by selling illegal weapons. Who knows how many lives those weapons took. Merlin gave him the location of the exact room Ruben was hiding in and he began to sneak towards that room. The sound of his steps were hard to cover on the crystal clear floor. Reaching the door, he took a deep breath, reminding himself of the reason he was doing all this.

As soon as Harry pushed the door, he was greeted by six more enemies, all protecting another hallway that led to a panic room, according to Merlin. As the first guard came at him, he quickly stunned them with his watch, but as the others noticed he was heavily armed, they began charging at him all at once. He opened his umbrella to avoid the bullets and quickly reached for his pockets to pull his hand grenade. A huge explosion followed that took out the entire brick wall on his left. After the smoke cleared and the last brick fell to the ground, Harry noticed one more guard, getting up on their feet, looking around. He quickly rushed over and grabbed the guard by the neck, sending a shock wave through their body with his ring. The person fell limp to the ground.

"Good job, Arthur" Merlin said. "There's a caracole at the end of the corridor. It leads to the room where that coward is hiding."

Harry knew it was now or never. He began walking up the stairs.

When he reached the top, there was only one door in front of him. He kicked it open and stepped in to a small room that wasn't as luxurious as the rest of the mansion; it was obviously a last resort if things went to shit, just like they did now. Only one person was standing in the room with a gun in his hand. He had a lock of red hair coloring his brown hairdo, and Harry saw the fear in his eyes, even though the man tried to hide it.

“So” Ruben started. “Tell me what do I owe to this honour of seeing you again.” He was stalling, Harry thought, and he took one step closer. Ruben trembled a little but regained himself quickly.

“You took something from me” Harry replied in a low, stone cold voice. “And I am determined to get it back.”

Ruben laughed; a laugh mixed with sorrow and mania.

“You know" he snarled, cocking his gun in his shaky hands, "not many people, to be precise, no one has ever made it back to seek revenge after I abducted them. You seem to be the only exception. My men shot you down not too long ago, yet you escaped." Harry tried to take another step but Ruben screamed. "No! You take another step and I tell my people to blow out the guts of your little friends down in the basement." Harry's hands curled up in a fist.

“Arthur, don’t believe a word he says" Merlin's voice came to the rescue. "Lancelot and Galahad made it back to the plane five minutes ago. Ruben's getting desperate. Ye kill this bastard and come back home.”

Harry kept his hand in a fist, though, acting as if he believed what Ruben was saying.

“You bastard” he muttered. “You're playing with my family.”

“Probably just a part of the job you’re doing, isn’t it?” Ruben asked, grinning.

Four guards surfaced from the stairs and Harry couldn’t help but smile. He could feel his old Galahad-self coming back to life.

“Manners” he started.

“For fuck’s sake, Arthur, we don’ have time for this shite, just kill ‘em and get ye ass back on the plane!” Merlin's angry voice scolded him through the comms.

“Maketh” he continued, looking in Ruben’s eyes, who was watching him with much curiosity at this point.

“Man.” He finished as the room fell silent. “Do you know what that means?” Harry asked, and he could hear a little cheer in his glasses, probably coming from an injured Eggsy in the background of Roxy's comms. All eyes were on him. Nobody dared to move. “Then let me teach you a lesson.”

The first guard fell to the ground as Harry opened his umbrella and poked him right between his eyes. As he heard Ruben shout for his men, he quickly took down the two that were closest to him: their own guns into their stomachs, then moved to handle the last one with an elegant kick of his Oxfords. He looked back at Ruben and saw the man holding a hand grenade, ready to throw it in Harry's deraction. And he did so, but he didn't expect Harry to hit the bomb with his umbrella like it was only a tennis ball. The grenade flew into the ceiling right above Ruben's had and exploded, bringing half of the room down with it. Harry shielded himself with the very umbrella he used to cause the explosion.

As the dust cleared, he saw Ruben, severely injured, staring up at him from under some rubble.

“What did… I take from you exactly?” Ruben muttered.

“My boy. My best friend.” Harry replied before shooting Ruben in the face.

The man was dead. He heard the Kingsman plane approaching the terrain.

“Come on, Arthur, let’s go home.”


	13. Did You Forget?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry visits Eggsy in the med-bay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title inspired by Demi Lovato's Don't Forget which is a song that has been tearing me apart emotionally for a decade.

Eggsy, of course, was injured pretty badly, as he had gone through the same torture techniques Harry had endured before. There were several scars on his body and he fell in and out of consciousness during the plane ride home. Harry kept him tucked in his arms after Roxy went to, as she said, get a little rest. Harry knew she wanted to give them some privacy. He didn't even care at the moment: he could've just sat across from the seat Eggsy was laid on, could've just watched him from afar, but his heart clenched at the sight of the younger man in pain, so he sat down and embraced him, mumbling reassuring words which he knew Eggsy couldn't really hear. If anything, Harry was reassuring himself.

As they landed at the new HQ, Eggsy was rushed into the hospital wing. His injuries were not fatal and the doctors could quickly confirm they wouldn't have any further consequences which helped Harry calm down a little. Merlin was already in his office, screens of data surrounding him. His head shot up as Harry walked in.

“Ye should take some rest” Merlin said, taking in Harry’s exhausted figure. "Ye look like shite."

Harry managed a brief smile. “Missed you too" he added. Then his face dropped, taking on a concerned note once again. "How is he doing?" he asked Merlin. "The doctors would not let me in to his room. Why in the bloody hell am I Arthur, then?”

“Sorry, lad, there are certain safety protocols which include everyone, even an Arthur” Merlin replied. “He’s doing okay. Tired from the things he had to endure, sure, but they had less time to torture him than they did with ye. So he’s going to be fine. He’s a strong lad.”

“When can I see him?” Harry asked.

“Dinnae, lad, soon as the doctors clear him up. We gotta wait.” Merlin answered softly. “Until then, go home and take a shower. Ye reek of blood. And maybe have a good night’s sleep. Promise I’ll notify ye as soon as ye boy is conscious.”

Harry had no choice but to agree. He did smell of blood and was very tired. So he walked to the tube, feeling defeated, and headed home. Stepping into an empty house was no surprise. He took his shoes off and headed to the kitchen to boil some water for his tea. When he felt like the water was hot enough he threw a filter in: his favorite flavor, cherry. After his tea was done, he went upstairs to his bedroom, setting the cup on the nightstand so it could cool a bit while he took a shower.

It always felt refreshing, washing the dried blood of his enemies (or in worse cases, himself) off of his body. He took his time in the shower, letting the hot drops of water rain over him. When he stepped out, he stared into the mirror. The clear image of young Galahad stared back at him. His face was covered with butterflies.

Harry shook his head and the vision was gone. He was staring at his current self, who, as he decided, was in desperate need of a quick shave. So he shaved the scrubby beginning of a beard from his face, put his velvet robe on and headed for bed.

He quickly got dressed right after he woke the next morning. As he called his cab, he imagined the worst scenarios possible, just so he wouldn’t be surprised when he faced them. His thoughts were racing, bouncing around in his skull ruthlessly, and they all contained Eggsy being hurt, or worse, maybe something happened and the doctors couldn't save him.. The car pulled in to the street of the shop and Harry tried to calm himself with some deep breaths. With a quick good morning to the tailor, he headed for the tube. The ride down was way too long.

“How deep does this fuckin’ thing go?” Eggsy’s voice rang in his ears suddenly. Very fucking deep, Eggsy, too fucking deep for a man who has no patience at the moment whatsoever. He let out a relieved sigh when he saw the tube waiting for him.

Even though he knew he was travelling the fastest he could, he still wished he could go faster. He tried to think positive. Everything would be fine. Merlin would have alerted him otherwise.

As he stepped out of the tube, he quickly took a glimpse at his watch.

“Shit, ye late?” Merlin asked, standing by the door, smirking.

“How is he?” Harry asked in an impatient tone.

“Calm yeself down, Harry, he’s doin’ okay” Merlin smirked. “Awake an' good as ever. Waiting for the doctors to say the same.”

That's all Harry needed to hear. The panic finally started to melt away.

“So can I see him?” Harry asked.

“Sure. Ye know where to find him” Merlin answered.

Needn’t to hear any other words, Harry hurried down the many hallways he got to know a bit in the past few months. The new HQ was mostly built to mimic the old one, so it wasn't too hard to navigate through the corridors. He spent decades in the predecessor of this place. He came to a stop in front of Eggsy’s medical room. What if the boy didn’t want to see him? He did not treat him very kindly before the mission. But he had to see for himself that he was okay. He knocked on the door, softly.

“Yeah?” Eggsy’s voice sounded from inside. Harry opened the door and stepped in to the bright white medical room.

“‘Arry” Eggsy exclaimed, smiling, as he noticed the older man stepping in. “Missed you lots.”

“Eggsy” Harry called out, slowly stepping closer to the bed where Eggsy laid, bandaged up, but otherwise looking fine. “Oh, thank God, you are not as badly injured as I had imagined. How are you doing, my boy?” Harry asked, sitting down in the chair next to Eggsy’s bed.

“‘M doin’ fine, ‘arry” Eggsy murmured. “You came to the rescue just before they could do me dir’y.” Harry sighed a little in relief.

“Roxy rescued you, to be precise” he corrected.

Eggsy's eyebrows furrowed. “Yeah, but you blew Ruben’s fuckin’ brains out and he deserved it” he replied. Harry scanned the younger man's face and concluded he looked angry for some reason.

“Yes, he might have" he replied finally.

“So" Eggsy started, voice full of regret. "I guess you were right to tell me I souldn’t go on this mission” he said, looking away. “Sorry I didn’t trust you, Haz. Just still fucking weird that you’re back, ‘s all.” Harry was left completely confused. Back? He hadn't spent that much time in Argentina. And now Eggsy was the one who got rescued this time. Oh. He meant the other thing.

“Back from the dead, you mean?” Harry asked, surprised. It’s been over a year since his return. Eggsy shouldn’t be weirded out by that anymore.

“Yeah, from the dead” Eggsy repeated, words weighing heavily on his lips. His hands began to tremble a bit so Harry caught them quickly, surprising himself with the motion. “You know, I really thought you were dead" Eggsy whispered. "For a year. You were everything I had, then one day, I saw you die.”

“Eggsy, I-”

“No, you listen” Eggsy said, looking small yet powerful as he laid in his hospital bed. “You were the one who lifted me out of all that shit. Fuckin’ ‘ell, you were the first adult man who did not take me for a fuckin’ slave as Dean and his pals did. You know how fuckin’ painful it was, when after all that, I had to fuckin’ make you remember me?”

Harry wanted to answer, but he couldn’t as a nurse cut in. “Galahad is clear to go. He can get his belongings and leave any time he wishes.”

Before Harry could react anything, Eggsy stood weekly from his bed and grabbed the few items from the nightstand. Harry wanted to call after him but Eggsy was gone before he could form any words.


	14. Him I'm Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Merlin go out for a drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally I'm mentioning the trainees! Short chapter, though.

Harry couldn’t blame him, really. He was rather rude to Eggsy before that mission. If not rude, then definitely not straightforward, and Harry knew Eggsy hated when people hid the entire truth from him. He made it sound like there was no other reason he called Eggsy to his house, only the fact that the mission was dangerous and he felt like Eggsy should stay at home instead of taking it on.

He understood Eggsy's frustration, though he couldn't help but wonder why these emotions only surfaced in the boy after a year of his return. Eggsy always told him he was happy Harry was akive and safe, they never really had fights since the one in Harry's own place on that unfortunate day.

Yet there he was, standing alone in the medical room, not really knowing what to do. It was at the third time he actually registered someone calling his name.

“Harry, for fuck’s sake, get it together” Merlin said through the glasses. “If ye wanna talk, there’s booze in me office. But I suggest ye go home once again.”

No, he definitely needed to get out. Out of the HQ, out of his home.

“How about just getting drunk at a bar?” Harry asked desperately. He could hear Merlin’s approving hum before the man signed off.

Later that night they met in a bar located in central London, just a few blocks down from Harry’s new home. Harry still had a bunch of time before Merlin's self-timed shift had ended, so he took the tube back to the shop and walked to his place to freshen up. He texted Eggsy, asking if he was okay, but he didn't receive any answer. So he did his best to keep his mind off him; he decided he would catch up with the trainee reports before going out with Merlin.

A few hours later he sat in the pub with a blurry vision and a slight headache. “Don’t you ever worry” Harry managed after a few beers,” Don’t you ever worry that the world is going nuts while you're sitting in a bar?”

“Harry, with all due respect, yer an idiot sometimes” Merlin rolled his eyes. “Ye know I’m constantly getting information through the glasses" he informed, tapping the said item with his thumb. He definitely wasn't entirely sober either. "If the world was ending, I would know. Sometimes I’m just not fast enough.” Merlin said, his face shifting to a painful expression.

“That was not your fault” Harry slurred, putting a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. “You couldn't have known. No one could.”

They kept drinking in silence for a few minutes. At leased the booze had somewhat eased Harry's mind.

“What about the trainees?” He asked suddenly. "I read some 'bout them today."

“Well" Merlin looked up from his drink, trying hard to make direct eye contact with one of the two Harrys he was seeing. "Each group is in their final rounds. As ye know, we had two entire groups competing for each title. Two groups of people for every code name" Merlin sighed and chucked tiredly. "It was really hard to manage. But we have some who managed to get to the reliability-test."

“From all the titles?” Harry asked, taken aback. He didn't expect for the process to go this well.

“Yes, at least one for each title" Merlin nodded. "They'll take the dog in a few days, and we’ll see” Merlin stated nonchalantly, playing with the glass of beer in his hands. “Who did you even nominate?”

"I have no idea” Harry stated honestly. He truly didn't remember their names. He should've felt some remorse about that, but he was just back from the dead and named the leader of a secret agency, so nominating candidates wasn't exactly on the top of his list of priorities. “Some top students from Oxford. Poked them randomly on a list. I had more important things to do.”

“And no one could beat Eggsy, I s’pose.” Merlin smiled.

“I have trouble understanding what you mean sometimes" Harry sighed. Merlin always looked at him with the i-know-everything expression, and Harry wished he knew what Merlin knew. "Yes, Eggsy was an incredible student, but the rules have changed since then” Harry wandered off. “I believe, since we had introduced the rule of no mentor connections to the trainees, we do not to get to spend time with them whatsoever. We are just listing names at this point.”

“Yes” Merlin answered in a serious tone. “Ye might be only just naming people this time around. But we’ve all agreed it is the fairest way for a fresh start and new people. Without any personal connections."

Harry knew he was right. They thought about this one-time rule because with all the new trainees, they wouldn't have had time to focus on anything else. So no mentoring. Everyone was in Merlin's hands, and Harry didn't mind too much.

"Ye miss a mentee like Eggsy, huh?” Merlin asked, his face warm and sympathetic.

“I believe it is simply him I am missing” Harry smiled sadly.


	15. Scream of a Thousand Butterflies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry has a flashback.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to explore Harry's PTSD.

Harry arrived back to his place late at night. He fumbled around with his keys for a few minute, his vision still blurry. Has he gotten so rusty that a few beers would hit him in the head like that? He threw off his shoes and put his cardigan on the hanger. Stumbling up the stairs he didn't even look in the direction of the shower: he decided that could wait until the morning. He slid under the comfortable, yet lonely hold of his double bed and realized he hadn't checked his messages all day. He turned on his phone, it's screen a bit broken from a few fights it endured, and began to scroll down in his unread texts.

 **Percy:** _hey, Arthur, i've got a brand new idea for the training. what if the next time we give them wolves instead of dogs??_

 **Bald Boy** : _Harry, Eggsy's a bit moody today. Probably because of the painkillers. Be careful, he might be irritated._

 **Bald Boy** : _Oh boy._

 **Bald Boy** : _So for once that wasn't entirely your fault, I guess._

 **Eggsy:** _Sorry for running off, couldn’t really wait to see mum and Daisy again. See you around. xx_

 **Eggsy:** _Anyway, hope you’re fine. Sorry for making such a shitshow in the med room. Miss u_

Eggsy apologized. He shouldn't have, really, but it still felt nice to know that the boy thought about their situation. _“Miss you too”_ Harry typed successfully on the third try and hit send. He fell asleep with his phone still in his hands.

The next morning he ignored the well-expected headache, popped in a few painkillers and got dressed. He decided he could take a day off: no notifications from the HQ, just a bunch of paperwork he had to get done. The sooner, the better. So he made himself a cup of coffee and headed for his office.

He spent the day working through the boring administrational stuff. He found it hard to concentrate, as his mind constantly wandered off. He reminisced about old times, before Doomsday, before everything changed, his thoughts drifted back to a time when he had both of his eyes and was at the top of his game.

In a far away place somewhere in the middle east, Harry adjusted his bomb suit, and prepared for landing. Just as he started contemplating if they were going to actually get out of the helicopter in time, the pilot screamed at them to jump.

When he landed on the rock-hard ground, waves of sand flying from his feet to the air, he marched along with the rest of the agents to reach the building. When they did, they went on with the plan, marching down the corridors to find the guy they were looking for.

After a few minutes, at a sharp left turn, a terribly loud explosion sounded in their ears and sent them flying in the air. When the dust started to settle, Harry opened his eyes. Right next to him laid an injured Lee Unwin, coming back to consciousness just at the moment. He looked confused, then frightened. Harry’s stomach dropped with a terrible feeling he couldn’t quite identify. The feeling of loss. Of doom. He crawled his way over to the other man.

“Lee, look at me” he said sharply. “Can you hear me?”

Lee raised his heat to look Harry in the eye. Harry stared back. He noticed little black and white patterned butterflies flying around Lee’s face. He didn’t know why, but he had the feeling they were not supposed to be there.

“I’m good” Lee said. Probably a scar on my leg. Doesn’t matter. Let’s get going.”

As Harry made sure everyone was okay, and luckily, no one fell under the collapsed walls, they continued their mission. They left the dust-covered hallway and searched through the building. Everytime Harry looked at Lee, though, he saw those butterflies again. More and more of them each time. They made him feel uneasy.

Now they all stood in a circle, their hostage sitting on a chair in the middle, tied up. Harry had a bad feeling in his guts about this entire thing. They shouldn’t be here. Something bad was about to happen.

As he heard the countdown, he looked over at Lee’s face. He could barely make out the man’s features from the sea of butterflies swimming on his face.

“Lee” he screamed. At least wanted to scream, but the words somehow got caught in his throat. Black and white butterflies filled the room. He heard screaming. Screaming, like the scream of a thousand butterflies. An explosion shook the ground, and the butterflies were gone.

When he woke up, all he could feel is the same old emptiness in his stomach. Colorful butterflies flew out his window. He took a deep breath. He was alive. He was going to be okay.


	16. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry reminisces a little.

In the evening, he decided he would rest after the long day of paperwork (and the long weeks of taking down a weapon ring, of course). He turned on the TV to have a little background noise as he made himself a martini in the kitchen. Lost in his thoughts once again, it was mostly the muscle memory making the martini for him.

He had gotten used to this: the nights alone, the TV or the radio on, just so he wouldn’t feel so lonely. In the past months, though, it seemed like his thoughts have been louder than the noises he tried to distract himself with.

He meant what he told Eggsy that day on the plane. That he truly wished things would have been different in his past. He wished he wouldn’t have always been alone. He was honest about never experiencing companionship, as he said it that day. Of course, he had a few flings when he was younger. He remembered a girl, a family friend, kissing him on the lips when he was just 16, under the staircase at a luxurious mansion while their parents were chatting in the huge dining room. He remembered feeling stiff, unable to move. He expected sparks, feelings, whatever they were called, since, mind you, he was aware of many things, he’d read many books and saw his parents being in love. Yet when that girl kissed him under the stairs, he didn’t kiss back. He just stood there.

A few years later in the army, lying on a bed under cold covers, he found a little solace by another boy’s lips and hands. It only happened a few times, and it wasn’t anything serious. He was terrified anyone would find out, anyway, so after a while, their little encounters stopped. After joining Kingsman, he gave up on finding love altogether. He felt content with the job he was doing, it kept both his mind and body occupied, many times he felt as if he was on top of the world. His home wasn’t empty, either, Mr. Pickle happily greeted him after he returned from his missions. Only after the death of his dog did he start to feel some kind of void in his life. He believed relationships were simply out of the picture, on one hand, because the agents were not supposed to get involved in romantic partnerships. It was dangerous in the line of work they were doing. (He overlooked that rule only when he recruited Lee. He knew about the man having a wife, of course.) On the other hand, he was unsure about the whole deal for a while. Most of the men he knew from the army or school got married to pretty ladies. Yet he felt like pretty ladies did not interest him at all. He slowly realized what it meant, and he was completely okay with it. The cruel way in which society viewed people like him only gave him one more reason to give up on finding love.

There was one thing, though, that he lied to Eggsy about. Staring down the barrel of Valentine’s gun, he did have one thing flash through his mind. It was Eggsy. Loud and clear, the boy appeared in his brain as the bullet hit his skin. He didn’t tell Eggsy, of course, he didn’t want to scare the younger man away. Still the impact the boy made on his life was obvious. He had given up on many things. Merlin was the only person who knew him very well, being his best friend for decades. But the way he let Eggsy know him in the matter of a few months surprised Harry, too. He kept his distance from Eggsy at first, but during those 24 hours of the boy staying at his house before the final rounds, Harry felt more alive than ever. He felt happy.

He spent a lot of time with Eggsy after he came back from the dead. They had a lot of catching up to do. They missed an entire year, after all. It felt as if everything was back to normal, except for Harry’s coordination, and the fact that he kept seeing butterflies very often. But Eggsy has been by his side the whole time. Even after Harry moved in to his new home and Eggsy went to live with his family, the boy still visited him almost every day while the new HQ was being built. They trained in a room of Harry’s house they made out to be a little gym. They went on long walks in the parks of London, Eggsy telling Harry many childhood stories to keep the older man’s mind from wandering off. They took trips out to the countryside, sometimes with Eggsy’s family. Harry got to know Eggsy’s mum and sister a bit during the year. They now lived in a bigger flat in Whitechapel, where Daisy could have her own separate room. Harry settled down in Mayfair; it was the most convenient, since the shop wasn’t so far. Even though the staff got out of Doomsday unhurt, and Harry told Eggsy to still use the Kingsman cabs, Eggsy took the subway many times, and walked a few blocks, just because he wanted to bring JB along and wanted the dog to have a little fun. So they usually arrived with Eggsy carrying the tired dog, but smiling up happily at Harry. As soon as Eggsy put JB down on the ground, the dog would run to the little bed by the staircase and fell asleep immediately. Harry liked having a bed for JB in his home: it made him feel as if someone lived there with him. Eggsy’s family came over a few times, and so did he to their place. They always treated him with kindness, and Eggsy’s mum never said anything about the past. She must have seen that Harry carried enough scars too.

Eggsy never gave up on him. Never looked down on him for struggling. Each time he felt weak, when his limbs failed to comply in a training, when he saw the butterflies again and again, Eggsy was by his side. And it made him feel a little more like himself each time.

It all went downhill when he officially became Arthur. Well, after his first mission as Arthur went wrong, to be precise. In the past year, he only focused on his recovery, he wasn’t technically back to Kingsman yet. The other remaining agents went on smaller missions, took care of the world while he was resting. When the new HQ got finished and they all attended its opening, Merlin called him aside to his new office.

“Nice new office, quite like your old one” Harry remarked as he closed the door behind him.

“Ye know what I called you in for, Harry” Merlin said.

“I do” Harry replied. “And I wish I would be anywhere else in the world right now.”

“Ye knew this moment would come. Ye agreed to nominate candidates for each of the remaining post. Which, I’m guessin’, means ye already knew.”

“Yes” Harry said, staring at a painting on the wall. “I did not know, however, that it would come this soon. I was hoping you would change your mind and realize I am not fit for it anymore.”

“Bullshit” Merlin said. “Ye know I got constant updates on yer condition. I know ye enough, and I wouldn’t be trusting ye if it wasn’t the time yet.”

Merlin looked up at him in anticipation of an answer. Harry didn’t give one. He couldn’t. His thoughts were running wild. He was waiting for the butterflies to appear on the wall.

“Are ye in or out? Merlin finally asked. The question stung like a needle in Harry’s chest. He took a deep breath.

“In. Without a doubt” he replied. And it was true. That he didn’t have doubts about wanting to stay. He had doubts about a thousand other things, however.

“Very well” Merlin said with a smile.

“When is the ceremony?” Harry asked, still not looking at Merlin.

“We can arrange it in a week. We don’t have too many people to invite, after all.” Merlin said.

Harry nodded and said goodbye to Merlin. He took the tube to the shop with Eggsy, who had been waiting for him outside.

“What’s wrong? You look bothered.” Eggsy said as they were travelling far under the surface.

“This is how I always look, I believe” Harry replied.

“Well, you always look serious n’ shit, but I can tell when it’s different” Eggsy shot back.

“Merlin wants to make me Arthur” Harry blurted out. He was surprised sometimes at how unfiltered he seemed to become around Eggsy. “Well, not only wants to, but is going to.”

“Of course he’s gonna” Eggsy responded, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “No one’s as good as you.”

“You’re a bit biased” Harry remarked.

“Don’t give a shit” Eggsy grinned. “So when’s the big day? Are we gonna have some fancy ceremony or somethin’? Will you be crowned? Do we have a crown?”

Harry smiled. When Eggsy got excited, he always started to ramble.

“No, we do not have a crown. But we will have a little ceremony. And Merlin said a week.”

The smile on Eggsy’s face fell a bit.

“Not a lot of time, innit?” He asked, sounding unsure. “In a week you’ll be my boss.”

“Well, don’t think anything’s going to change” Harry said, looking away. “Only that I will be working again. So you will not have to babysit me anymore.”

Eggsy snorted.

“I actually loved to babysit you, bruv” he said. “But wasn’t a big deal. Was really happy to do it.”

“Don’t call me ‘bruv’” Harry replied, making Eggsy laugh a little. “And yes, it was a big deal. You taught me how to walk on my feet again. Almost quite literally.”

“Just glad I could help” Eggsy murmured, flushed.

The tube stopped under the shop. They both got out, walked out into the fresh air of the evening. The cab was waiting.

“I will walk home, but you take the cab” Harry said. Eggsy looked at him, brows raised in concern. “Don’t worry, I just have to clean my head. I will text you when I get home.”

“‘kay” Eggsy said, getting in to the car. “Take care of yourself.”

They stood in the HQ a week later, along with Merlin, Percival, Bors and Roxy. The ceremony was short but lavish, and Harry could see Eggsy beaming up at him with pride from the corner of his eye. They had a few drinks after, and when the celebration was over, Harry took the tube home with Eggsy and Roxy. The young agents were a bit tipsy, and they agreed to go out to a bar to get more drunk.

“Harry, you should come, it’s your big day” Eggsy teased.

“Not sure, my boy, I’m not as young anymore” Harry replied.

“Don’t bullshit me, ‘arry, I know you can still take a few drinks.” Eggsy said.

Roxy looked at them with a knowing smile.

“I think Eggsy is right, you deserve it” she said.

“Alright” Harry sighed. “But only one Guiness, and I will be going home.”

Harry could see Eggsy almost shaking with excitement.

They ended up at a bar Roxy and Eggsy knew, but Harry had never been to. Apparently, this is one of the bars they always visit at their weekly night out. It was a thing Eggsy and Roxy had, a way to let off some steam: binge drinking in multiple bars. Harry did this too, when he was younger.

They sat at a table in a quiet corner and ordered three beers.

“To the best Arthur Kingsman has ever seen” Eggsy said as they clicked their cups together.

“Bit of an overstatement” Harry whispered, embarrassed.

“C’mon” Eggsy said, gulping down a big chunk of the beer. “I only seen two Arthurs. One of ‘em was fine, but definitely not as good as you. The other had a fuckin’ chip in his neck and betrayed the fuck out of us. You’re certainly better.”

Roxy nodded.

They chatted and drank for a few hours, then Harry and Eggsy took a cab together, first dropping Harry off, since his house was closer. Eggsy smiled up at him as he got out of the car.

“Bye, boss” he said. Harry grinned and watched as the cab faded into the ever-busy traffic of London. He felt content.

And then Ruben happened, and Eggsy just didn’t act the same. Staring at the empty glass of his third martini, Harry couldn’t help, but wonder, why.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, writing a long chapter? Weird, right? Turns out I write longer chapters when I'm not drunk. What a wild concept.


	17. New Agents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally introducing the new agents! Also, Harry reminisces a bit again.

Harry fell asleep easily, the drinks he’d had pulling his eyelids shut. The next morning the expected headache didn’t appear, however. He wasn’t that drunk last night. Just a few martinis. He could still handle that.

When he checked his phone he wasn’t surprised he had a text from Merlin, telling him to go in to the HQ today. Even though he got a bit tipsy and went to bed late last night, his biological clock still rushed him awake at 7 in the morning. He had gotten used to that, it was the basic setting. Waking up at 7 every day, dressing up, quickly drinking a coffee, grabbing some breakfast then heading down to the tube. In his bright white room in Kentucky, having no idea who he was, he was having trouble figuring out why his body jolted awake every day at 7.

He poured himself his coffee, drinking it calmly while he read the newspaper. After getting dressed, he realized he had a few more minutes than he’d expected, so he decided to walk to the shop. The place he lived now was the most convenient home he’s ever had, just a few block down from the shop, an easy ten minute walk.

He got there only a few minutes late. Merlin was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs.

“Good morning. Ye late again” he smirked.

“I have decided to take a walk this lovely morning. I’m doing alright, thank you very much for your question” Harry shot back.

Merlin smiled but didn’t reply. They headed upstairs to the conference room. Eggsy and Roxy were already inside. Punctual, as they always were. Harry greeted them as he walked in.

“Lady and gentleman, please put your glasses on.”

He turned his on too, and smiled politely as Bors and Percival appeared by the table.

“Good morning, everyone” he started. “The pressing topic of today’s meeting is the faith of our new agents. Merlin, do come in.”

Merlin nodded from the door and made his way to stand in front of the screen.

“We have the final results” he said. “As ye all know, we had five empty spots, two groups competing for each spot. If I need to remind ye, the spots available were Gawain, Tristan, Bedivere, Claudin and Urien. Ye obviously wanna know who won. Before detailing that, may I tell ye that yer mentoring techniques this time around really sucked.”

An awkward laughter echoed around the room.

“Dinnae worry, I'm joking” Merlin continued. “This is what we agreed upon. I fathered all of ‘em, basically. Had nothin’ better to do. So ye might want to treat these people as equals right away, since ye weren’t too much help in raising them to be part of Kingsman.”

Everyone agreed with that. But not like they could’ve done any better; and they knew Merlin wasn’t actually angry at them. They lost almost everything that day. It was okay if they didn’t have the state of mind to select their candidates. It was Merlin's decisjin, after all.

“So” Merlin smiled. “Ye wanna know the next five?"

Everyone instantly nodded, excited about what was going to come next.

“Let’s start with our new Bedivere" Merlin began. "Now I kno’ the tradition goes as Bedivere being Arthur’s right hand man, but since we all agreed on shaking the rules a bit, I believe that title goes to Galahad this time.

Everyone looked at Eggsy with proud eyes, and Harry felt very happy at that moment. Shaking up the general Kingsman rules was one thing they all agreed on after Doomsday (and also after Harry’s return). The ‘no romantic relationship for a Kingsman’ rule was also off the table, since, as Eggsy so eloquently put it, they were “not the fuckin’ Jedi order, for God’s sake, look what happened to Anakin”. Also, since half of the agents had passed away, they decided the traditional roles shall be based on convenience, and not origin. They kept the names, but they decided there shall not be any force to them. Whatever role the new agents will be best at, they will do, regardless of the names.

Harry snapped back from his thoughts as a picture of a handsome man in his mid 30s appeared on the screen.

“Our new Bedivere” Merlin announced. “Norman Fulton. 33 years old. Graduated from King’s college. Passed all the tests as the best ranking.”

The man had blonde, curly hair and soothing blue eyes. Harry had a bad feeling about him, somehow. Butterflies started to show up on his face, right before Merlin clicked to show the next new recruit. Harry looked over at Eggsy and realized the boy had been looking at him. When their eyes met, Eggsy immediately looked away with a terribly sad smile on his face.

“Next up, Gawain” Merlin cut Harry’s racing thoughts in half. “I am rather happy to announce that Gawain is a lady this time. Her name is Sabrina George.”

An image of a woman with curly brown hair and dark skin appeared on the screen. Roxy cheered and Harry applauded too.

“She is 29. Was yet to graduate at Cambridge. Incredible teamwork skills.” Merlin said.

The men around the table seemed to all agree that it was time to bring more women to the table. Roxy had done very well, became one of the most respected agents in Kingsman history. It was about time someone walked the same path.

“Next up is our new Tristan. Gerard Haynes. 34, from Nottingham. Incredible shooting skills.”

A man with dark black hair appeared on the screen. Harry could feel a pair of sharp eyes on him, yet he decided not to turn around.

“Happy to announce that the title of Claudin was also taken by a female agent.” Merlin continued. “And so was the title Urien. Let’s start with Claudin, though.”

A woman with thick black hair appeared on the screen.

“With Japanese origins, Jana Lane is a British woman, not yet applied for college. She is 25, joined the army when she was just 20. I applied her myself. Incredible strength, every training completed the top of her group.” Everyone nodded in astonishment.

“And last, but not least, our Urien” Merlin announced. A picture of a beautiful woman took over the screen. Her locks fell perfectly on her dark shoulders. “Exactly 30, graduated from Leeds, fastest on the running track.”

Merlin seemed to be finished.

“Thank you, Merlin” Harry said, standing up. “When will their inauguration take place?”

“On Wednesday. All of ye are expected to be here and behave well. Be nice to the new agents.”

“Thank you, Merlin. You have all heard the instructions. Glasses off” Harry nodded.

Percival and Bors disappeared immediately, and Harry could also see Roxy and Eggsy disconnect. Merlin and Roxy threw him a polite smile, but as soon as they their glasses off, they hurried out of the room. Only him and Eggsy remained, the younger man buried deep in thought. It was now or never.

“I can see it too, you know” Harry started.

“See what?” Eggsy said, surprised, snapping out of his train of thought.

“See that something is bothering you. And although I highly appreciate it, you are not the only one with this superpower.” Harry said quietly, not looking at Eggsy.

“Lots of things are botherin’ me, but pretty sure they no concern of an Arthur” Eggsy replied. “‘m okay, Harry, really. Gotta get goin.”

“You’ve told me that before” Harry said without thinking, finally looking Eggsy in the eyes. “It seems you are avoiding me. And I do not want that to be the case. I just want you to know, that whatever you’re thinking, you can confront me with it.”

Eggsy seemed to think about it for a minute. But then he shook his head, flashed a sad smile at Harry and got up from his seat.

“See you at the party, Haz” he said, before he headed out the door.

Harry barely registered the nickname being said. He only heard the bang of the door slamming shut, and Eggsy walking away from him once again.

It was typical, really. He never really got what he wanted in this field, but he didn’t have to remind himself of that. Eggsy probably did, though. Harry imagined a bunch of ladies swooning at Eggsy’s feet. Not only was the young boy incredibly good looking and very obviously muscular, he was also smart and kind, always caring for the people around him. His laugh sweet as sugar, pouring down on Harry’s hopeless and hollow soul, bringing some shreds of light and happiness into his life. Eggsy could also be bitter sometimes, bringing a feeling of protectiveness to Harry, the feeling of cradling the boy in for all eternity, never letting him go. These bitter moments included all of the slips Eggsy made by accident, while they were walking side by side in one of the parks, when the boy brought up sad memories from his childhood. These sentences usually had the name Dean in them, which Harry remembered too much about, and really hated himself for not putting that dirtbag in jail first time he could.

With the most impressive woman-count in Kingsman history, probably came many new opportunities for Eggsy in the field of romance, as Harry thought so. Back then, Eggsy first admitted about having a relationship to Harry. Even though it left a heavy feeling in his stomach, Harry helped Eggsy save the world. The world and the princess. Harry was truly happy for Eggsy, despite the lump in his throat every time the boy brought up the topic of being in a relationship with a princess.

Until one day, just two months after Harry’s return, Eggsy knocked on the older man’s door, just like he did every day, only this time, he looked as if he had been struck by lightning.

“What happened?” Harry asked, opening the door.

“We broke up” Eggsy muttered. Harry, shocked, stood aside to let the younger man in.

“Would you like to… talk about it?” He asked, doubting if that even made sense. Eggsy looked at him in the eyes.

“She wanted me to marry her. I told her I couldn’t” he said.

“And why is that?” Harry asked. They were in the dining room now, Eggsy taking his usual seat while Harry walked in to the kitchen and set up the water to boil.

“I just… can’t do that, y’know. Marriage” Eggsy replied, and Harry’s heart sank a little. “I mean” Eggsy continued, “not marriage in general, but marriage to a princess. She expected me to become a prince. So, y’know. She basically asked me to choose between her and Kingsman. And I love her, ‘arry, I do. But I just… I cannot give up everything I have here” Eggsy gestured around the room.

“I will not pretend to understand how you feel” Harry said honestly. “All I can promise you is that I will listen. Also, I made you tea. The way you like it.”

Eggsy wiped his eyes and flashed him a gentle smile.

“Thank you, Harry. That’s perfectly enough.”

Being perfectly enough was one of Harry's fondest memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all of these names to a random name generator I found online. I had so much fun with it! Hope you guys like it so far, feel free to leave a comment. :)


	18. Welcome Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They welcome the new agents.

The introduction of the new agents finally came around. Harry looked at the clock on his bedroom wall. He was definitely going to be late. Just the usual. He straightened his tie.

He was curious about the new agents, excited to be finally meeting them. He had a blue suit on, which he rarely put on anymore. He used to wear suits like these to lavish parties, he remembered. He had a few different suits made at the shop after it was rebuilt. After all, he knew Merlin was going to make him Arthur one day. And he wanted to be the best one yet. Both leadership and fashion-wise.

As he stepped outside of his home he breathed in the fresh air. He got in to the taxi, only to see Eggsy already sitting in the back.

“Hey, ‘arry” the boy said, grinning. “Thought we could save some time and get the same cab. You live closer to the shop, so I got in first.”

“I suppose you’re right” Harry said as he looked Eggsy over. At that moment, Harry realized he wasn’t the only one who thought of dressing up neat for tonight. Eggsy was wearing a black suit, with silver glitters coloring the jacket. It might have been the most beautiful thing Harry had ever seen.

“You look good, Haz” Eggsy smiled before Harry could say anything. When did that nickname become a thing? Harry suddenly realized they were already halfway to the shop and he hasn’t said anything.

“You look rather handsome yourself” he managed to get out, avoiding eye contact with Eggsy. Finally the cab came to a stop in front of the store. They got inside and headed to take the tube.

After a quick but awkwardly silent travel they arrived at the HQ. Harry got up from his seat before Eggsy did, and as the younger man stood to step out of the tube, Harry stepped aside and held his hand out for Eggsy to take. Eggsy took it and got out of the carriage, and Harry realized what had just happened. He helped Eggsy out of the tube like a prince helping a princess to get down from the fancy carriage in the movies. His face flushed all of the sudden. Merlin was waiting for them at the door.

“Gentlemen” Merlin nodded. “Please head to the ballroom. The ceremony will be held there.”

Eggsy and Harry both nodded back. Eggsy stepped in the door first. Harry could feel a sudden pull on the sleeve of his suit as Merlin leaned in to whisper into his ear. “Pull yeself together and stop acting like a teenage girl, for fuck’s sake.”

As they reached the ballroom, they could already see Roxy, Percival and Bors, and many people of the staff standing there. So many people. Harry was surprised, as he often forgot how many people actually worked for Kingsman. Of course, they would have to see the new agents to know they were part of the agency. The room was decorated in an elegant style, with a little stage at the wall furthest from the entrance. Harry remembered his time of being introduced as the new Galahad. There was no such party as this, and he figured it was only held as a celebration of Kingsman officially being full and back on track again. He didn’t mind, though. He was glad the new agents could see they were this important to the organization. He snapped back from his thoughts as Eggsy stepped beside him.

“Big moment, huh?” The boy asked. "Dunno if you got a party, but I didn’t.”

“No, I certainly did not, either” Harry replied. “It is probably to celebrate our agency being renewed.”

“Makes sense” Eggsy said. They felt silent after that, standing side by side, listening to the quiet music which filled the room. After a while, Merlin walked on the tiny stage. He looked uncomfortable with all these eyes on him.

“Ladies and gentlemen” he started. “The past few years have been tough on Kingsman. That is why I decided we all could let off some steam while we welcome our new agents. As ye all know, half of our men were wiped out with those missiles. In the past year, we’ve worked our arses off to find the suitable candidates for each position. And here they all are tonight. Ready to join us. So I’m gonna go ahead and introduce them all.”

Eggsy cheered and clapped happily, and the rest of the crowd followed. Harry looked at the younger man and rolled his eyes.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome our five new agents” Merlin announced. “Gawain, Tristan, Bedivere, Claudin and Urien.” The crowd started clapping once again as two men and three women stepped on the stage. Of course Merlin would only say their code names. Their real information was only available for the other agents and Merlin himself.

“Now” Merlin said after the clapping had ended "Get te know each other.”

The music started faintly again, old classics, probably Merlin’s selection. The new agents walked off the stage, getting closer and closer to the squad of the older ones. Harry decided to step forward, being Arthur, and greet their new partners.

“Welcome all, I’m your Arthur. We all are very glad to meet you” he said, and he seemed to make a good impression, since after a few awkward handshakes, the conversation between old and new agents seemed to start rather naturally. They stood in smaller groups, and after a while, Harry felt like stepping out and grabbing a drink, so he did. From the table covered in food and drinks, he looked back at the agents. His new team. He should get to know them better. Yet he couldn’t help but look at Eggsy and the new Bedivere, Norman Fulton, talking to the boy. They seemed to be having fun, and the sinking feeling in Harry’s stomach, which he couldn’t quite identify, returned once again. Eggsy looked like he was enjoying himself, so Harry decided he would not walk back just yet. Deep in his thoughts, he had to come back to reality suddenly, as a woman called his name. Arthur, specifically.

“Yes?” Harry replied.

“Pamela Flores” the woman held her hand out. Harry reached and shook it. “The new Urien.”

“Oh” Harry realized. “Welcome to the agency, Pamela. I’m very glad to meet you.”

“Thank you” Urien nodded. “Looking forward to be working aside such great agents.” So Harry ended up chatting with her at the bar, all the other agents slowly joining them as the night passed by. They found out a bit about the lives of their new colleagues. Harry enjoyed the chatter and tried not to pay too much attention to the fact that Eggsy and Norman stood side-by-side all night.

He found out some rather interesting information, however. He got to know that Pamela Flores, their new Urien, was born and raised in Leeds, and even went to university there, but she decided she would enlist in the army. After a few times of being dropped because men took the post she applied for, she was finally accepted. Bors found her because she was a very highly appraised member of the army. Jana Lane, their new Claudin, a woman with thick black hair that reached her waist, was born in the USA, to a Japanese mother and an English father, who had big dreams and moved to the States to complete them. After her mother passed from an illness, Jana and her father moved to the UK, to her grandparents, who took care of her while her father worked endless shifts at a factory. Lana didn’t go to college, but she was an intelligent and strong woman, and she was nominated by Eggsy, who remotely knew her family from his childhood. Gerard Haynes, their new Tristan, was a well-built man in a navy blue suit, who was from Nottingham, born and raised. With rather rich parents, he landed an easy spot at the university of his town, but also showed high intellect, graduating top of his year. Percival chose him, as Harry found out. Sabrina George, who earned the name of Gawain, was born and raised in central-London, by middle-class parents. She had two younger brothers who she had to take care of a lot due to their parents working many hours to make a living. She was chosen by Roxy. Harry felt very proud of the girl. And the last one, Bedivere, civil name Norman Fulton, standing next to Eggsy the whole night, was born and raised in London, to extremely rich parents, getting into King’s college right after graduating high school. He did very good, though, in the Kingsman training: ranking best at everything in his group. Harry wondered who chose him.

Later that night, Harry and Merlin somehow ended up at the bar, without any company. As they ordered their usual round of martinis, Harry couldn’t help, but ask.

“You know, I found out about who nominated each of the candidates except for Norman. I wonder whom he was chosen by.”

“Yer still a complete idiot” Merlin said, drinking the first martini from the table. Harry felt confused. “Ye did. Don’t ye remember?” Merlin asked. Harry felt shocked and extremely confused.” Ah, shit, ye don’t remember” Merlin sighed. “I don’t blame ye. After ye came back and we started rebuildin’, one of the first questions was, who’s gunna replace the missing five. So I asked each of ye, the remaining agents, to suggest five people. Each competing fer a different name.” Harry remembered as much as that, so he nodded. “As much as ye were not in the best condition, ye decided to just go through the tops of each university and select them. So I did.”

“So basically, you selected for me” Harry said. “I’m really sorry. I don’t recall this at all. I thought I chose them.”

“‘S okay” Merlin replied. “Ye were in a very bad state, I understood. Ye were basically killed and brought back to life. So I didn’t really mind picking yer candidates, long as ye were alive an’ recovering.”

Harry sat in amazement for a few seconds. Merlin really was his best friend.

“Thank you” he managed to mutter. “I have no idea how I could ever repay you.”

Merlin grinned.

“Just get ye shit together. Treat Eggsy right” he said, and within a few seconds he was gone, swallowed by the crowd.

Harry felt a little dizzy, and decided it was best to get some fresh air, so he stumbled outside to the balcony of the HQ and sat on a bench near the door. The fresh air of the night seemed to sober him up a little.

“Arthur” a voice called. Harry looked to his right and saw Norman, the new Bedivere, smoking on a cigarette, elbows on the edge. The man walked over to him. “So glad to finally meet you, sir.”

Harry shook his hand and looked deep into his piercing green eyes. The man seemed younger than his actual age, which wasn’t that much either.

“Pleasure’s all mine” Harry said. “Did not know Kingsman agents were allowed to, uhm, smoke.”

“I asked Merlin, he said it’s alright as long as I don’t do it on the daily” Norman replied. “Want one?”

“No, thank you” Harry said, eyeing the other man suspiciously. “Haven’t had a cigarette in years” he added.

“Oh” Norman said, flicking the ashes down, right into the tray. “You smoked?”

“When I was in the army, yes” Harry admitted. “Quit right before joining the agency.”

Norman hummed, but didn’t reply. They watched the night sky for a while in an awkward silence. Neither of them dared to move. Harry was scared that by abandoning a new agent, he would make a bad impression. And Norman was probably afraid that by doing the same, he would make a bad impression on his boss. So they stood there, in silence, right until Eggsy stumbled out of the doors, grinning, obviously drunk.

“Haz, I was lookin’ for you ever’where” the young man slurred. “Come, dance w’ me” he walked closer to Harry, but as soon as he noticed Norman, he stopped. “Shit. I mean, Arthur, would you care to join me for a drink?”

“Would be very glad to” Harry said, following Eggsy, leaving Norman on the balcony by himself. As soon as they got to the bar, Harry looked at Eggsy.

“What the hell are you doing” he asked.

“S’rry” Eggsy grinned as he swallowed the shot the bartender had just placed right in front of him. “You seemed like you were havin’ an awkward conversation. Thought I’d help.”

Harry sighed. “He’s my, our, new agent, so I just wanted to make a good impression.”

“And failed miserably” Eggsy added. “Be glad that I rescued you. Now, sorry, but I gotta keep making good impressions on our team” the boy said as he left Harry by the bar, heading back to the balcony, where Gawain joined Bedivere, engaged in a conversation which Eggsy melted into right away. Harry didn’t know what to feel, as he was proud of his boy, being able to win the new agents’ hearts so quickly, yet jealous about the fact that he was spending most of the night with other people. ‘He’s not your property’, he reminded himself. ‘Never will be. Even if anything would happen, he is his own person. You have to respect that.’

“Everything okay?” He heard a voice from right next to him. It belonged to Roxy.

“Yes, thank you, everything is fine” Harry replied, clutching the glass of martini he held in his hands, then gulping it down.

Roxy shook her head. “Sorry, but I refuse to believe you” she said. “What I believe is that you need to get the hell out of here. I will cover for you, don’t worry. Just get the tube and go home.”

“How could I ever thank you?” Harry asked, amazed.

“Just forgive Eggsy for being an idiot. And get out of here” the woman answered.

So Harry did so, even though he was Arthur, he slipped away early from the party. When the tube arrived at the shop, as he was walking towards the cab, he wondered what the hell had Roxy meant about Eggsy being an idiot. And about Harry having to forgive him. Eggsy was just living his life, being himself, even if it meant he was probably flirting with someone else other than Harry. Harry never had high hopes about that, in fact, the only hopes he had was that Eggsy would remain his friend, no matter what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooooh look at me, writing original characters for the first time! It's so much fun!


	19. Don't Listen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry accidentally listens.

A few days had passed since the party. The rest of the agents were not called in to the HQ yet, there was no immediate threat, but obviously, as an Arthur, Harry had to discuss the new recruits with Merlin and finalize the new rules of the way Kingsman operates from now on.

“So” Harry said to Merlin after a few hours of going through official documents. “As I recall, we basically operate in the same way, only our agents get to have personal relationships this time. And also, we ignore a certain amount of substance abuse.”

“Harry” Merlin started. “As far as I’m concerned, smoking a few times a week doesn’t count as substance abuse. Also, we have most of our funds from Statesman, so ye gotta be thankful. Agent Tequila was here for a while, after the whole thing, as ye know, and we went over the rules, comparing the Statesman ones to the Kingsman ones. And I’m proud to say, we got t’ keep most of our rules.”

Harry gave in and nodded. Merlin was right, they had almost everything to thank for the Statesman. And changing up a couple of rules after restarting was very logical.

“Alright” he said. “Consider me on board with every new rule. Do we have any other things to discuss?”

“Well, there is one new mission” Merlin said. “Our satellites located a smaller drug ring in Hungary. They are from an unknown origin, but they have their main base there, that’s for sure.”

“Okay, good find” Harry replied. “Who are we sending?”

Merlin looked down on the floor. “I was thinking Galahad and Bedivere” he stated. Harry could feel his stomach drop. He looked away. “They seem to be getting along really well” Merlin continued. “And I was thinkin’ about sending an experienced agent with one of the new ones. But if ye feel uncomfortable with that, we could always change plans.”

“I do not feel uncomfortable at all” Harry said, but he could feel his face burn up at the suggestion. “I do agree, sending an experienced agent with a new one is quite an incredible idea.”

“A’ight” Merlin answered, still uncertain. “Their mission starts in two days.”

Harry nodded, and feeling like there was nothing left to discuss, he left the room.

“What the ‘ell are you doin’ here?” Eggsy asked him as he walked closer to the bench he was sitting on.

“Well, not so long ago, you used to take these laps with me” Harry replied. “I understand if I had gotten too old to run with you, though.”

Eggsy’s face shot up in a painful grimace. “You’re not that old.”

Harry decided to ignore that sentence. “You know you are going to Hungary tomorrow, right?” He asked.

“Yeah, Merlin briefed me in” Eggsy replied. “Always wanted to go there, y’know. Cool country.”

“Yes, I do have to agree. I have been there on a few missions, and I found their cultural heritage rather incredible” Harry added, before he realized there were other things he wanted to talk about. So he composed himself. “You know you’re going there with Bedivere, right?”

Eggsy looked confused. “Yeah, as I said, Merlin briefed me in. Why you askin’?”

“Because he is a new agent, and this is his first actual errand” Harry sounded very confident. “I just want to make sure he is in the best hands an agent can be in on their first mission.”

“And you don’t trust me enough?” Eggsy smiled sadly. “I will take care of him, don’t worry.”

“Good” Harry said. Eggsy taking care of someone else. Other than him. The indescribable sadness was back in his chest again.

“Yer landing in two minutes, prepare to jump” Merlin said to the microphone standing in front of him. “Yer approachin’ the city. As I told ye, ye gotta land in the woods, so no one suspects anythin’.”

Harry watched on Melin’s screen as Eggsy and Norman landed in the mountains above the city of Pécs in Hungary. The city was known for its amazing culture, even named as the European Capital of Culture in 2010. Still, as in every major city of the world, the problem of drugs arose from time to time. As it did now, with a drug ring of unknown origin, taking over the sales of drugs in the city in the past few years. Harry had planned a vacation here, since the city looked incredible, with mountains surrounding the centre, and many churces and buildings from older times remaining intact and renewed. Harry guessed his holiday plans were over, but at least he got to see Eggsy in the city, undercover, taking down an entire squad of people who sold insanely bad and useless drugs for a very high price.

So Harry remained silent as Eggsy and Norman landed in the mountains, discarded their parachutes (renewable, of course, Kingsman was not around to fuck with climate change), and headed down the mountains towards the city, guns kept at an arm’s length. They knew the exact location of the drug ring and as they approached it, Harry became more and more tense. The ring was located in a tobacco factory, down in the basement, where most workers were not allowed to enter. The tobacco factory itself only made legally distributable cigarettes, so the Kingsman had no plan of shutting it down. In the basement, however, unbeknownst to most of the workers, laid a huge pile of illegal drugs, distributed in secret by some of the workers and the owners of the company. Millions of dollars in cash, flooding in and out in secret.

Harry watched the built-in cameras of the glasses as Eggsy and Norman headed down the stairs of the basement of the factory. Eggsy silently gave a few instructions to Norman, just by nodding his head, but the man seemed to understand and comply- Just by some head gestures. It reminded Harry of himself, at the top of his game, being able to follow every order without a question. When he looked back at the screen, he could see Eggsy and Norman exposing an assembly of drug dealers right in the basement. They took them all down, one by one, stunning them, so they could live to see their prison trials. Then they managed to uncover many piles of cocaine, and alerted the local police. Then, as good Kingsman agents do, they slipped away before the authorities arrived. The footage didn’t cut until they got to the hotel, though. Harry witnessed them running away from the scene together. And as he saw them getting in to the same hotel bedroom together, he could hear Norman’s voice, sharp as a knife.

“Eggsy, I…” Merlin cut the line off immediately.

“I think ye should get some rest, Arthur” Harry could barely register Merlin's words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing about my city because why not <3 so now y'all know i'm Hungarian lol. looking to trade for a better government, if anyone has one hmu


	20. Ye Wouldn't Believe, But I Screwed Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin realized he just made a huge mistake. He tries to make it better, though.

“I don’t understand” Merlin heard Eggsy say as he logged back to the line. Harry was long gone; he left looking as if his heart had been broken in half. “Not getting what you mean.” Merlin focused on the conversation once again. He shouldn't be listening, but he simply couldn't see his best friend like this. He had to know if there was anything going on.

“I mean I think that you have feelings for Arthur.” Norman said.

“Fuck. Fuckin’ ‘ell. I screwed up” Merlin cursed under his breath, watching the events in a Hungarian hotel unfold.

“What the fuck?” Eggsy asked, seemingly feeling very lost. “Seriously, bruv. The fuck are you talkin’ about?”

“I’m talking about your relationship with him” Bedivere continued. “The night we stood on the balcony. You wanted him to dance with you. You only said otherwise because you saw me there, too.”

“Yeah, ‘arry’s my best friend, ‘course I wanted to dance with him” Eggsy replied.

“Oh, God, I’m sorry” Norman said. “I do respect you as a Kingsman agent, and I believe you are very, very smart, but you seem to be incredibly dumb when it comes to human relationships.”

"Why the fuck are you saying all of this?" Eggsy asked, obviously irritated.

"Because it's messing with your head" Norman answered. "Really, not to be disrespectful, but I could see your mind was somewhere else. It's no good. You have stop swallowing everything back."

Merlin had to laugh, watching the footage. Finally someone was brave enough to tell Eggsy all about his feelings.

“Anyway, let’s go to sleep” Norman said. “I take the sleeping bag, you sleep on the bed. It’s my first mission, after all, and I believe I gotta get used to this.”

Merlin turned off the glasses, eyes wide in disbelief. Of course he trusted Norman as a new agent, having trained him in the past months, but he had no idea the man could be this gentle but straight forward. Merlin certainly felt like he messed up. He should tell Harry about all of these. Tomorrow.

As the sun began to rise the next day, the private jet of Galahad and Bedivere sat foot at the Kingsman HQ. They were supposed to stay one more night, but since their mission was officially completed, Merlin sent them a jet, which arrived just after an hour after them going to sleep. They didn’t mind too much, as Merlin kicked in the door and told them to get the heck on the jet. It had a bed, or at least a couch, for everyone to sleep on. Better than a sleeping bag on the cold hotel floor.

As they arrived home, Merlin sent both Eggsy and Norman to their designated and prepared resting room at the HQ, sending them off to sleep. Before he went to rest in his own room, though (which was now built in the HQ, since Merlin thought that he would either go down with Kingsman or he wouldn’t die at all), he sent a text message to Harry.

‘They’re okay. See you later.’

He was glad he got no reply. Harry was probably asleep.

The next morning as Merlin warmed a cup of tea in his office, Harry stormed in.

“I get a text from you without any details, and you’re surprised I am concerned?” Harry asked in an angry tone.

“Not surprised” Merlin replied. “Ye better be concerned about it all. Yet ye gotta understand me that I cannoe give ye any information, since they are not awake. Ye gotta come back later. Get yer mind off the whole thing. Go an’ do some paperwork.”

So Harry stormed out of Merlin’s office and retrieved into his own, only missing Eggsy by a few minutes, who got up from bed, and after the nurses checked him and said he was good to go, headed for Merlin’s office. He knocked on the door politely.

“Come in” Merlin said from inside.

Eggsy opened the door and peeked in, and once he was sure it was Merlin sitting in the chair, he opened the door fully and made his way across the room to sit in the chair in front of Merlin’s desk.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Merlin asked, seemingly entertained.

“Do you have the footage from last night?” Eggsy asked right away.

“Shit, it’s good to see ye too lad, I’m glad yer okay” Merlin smirked.

“Cut the crap” Eggsy said, sounding impatient. “You have the recordings from last night. Delete them.”

“Ye can’t boss me around, as I’m sure ye know” Merlin replied. “It’s confidential. No one has access to it.”

“‘Cept for Arthur, right?” Eggsy shot back. “‘Cause I’m pretty sure he does.”

“He’s my superior now too, ye know” Merlin answered. “I cannoe just delete footage without risking me job. I hope ye understand that.”

Eggsy shot him one of his stubborn looks, which meant he understood yet not necessarily agreed, and stormed out of the room. Merlin didn’t have to check the security footage to know where he was going. Not back to the medical room, as he knew Eggsy, the boy would never want to go back there.

“Is he awake? You told me you would notify me” Harry said a few minutes later, stepping back to Merlin’s office.

“I have to admit some things to ye” Merlin started. “Which ye wouldn’t believe. The first incredibly unlikely fact is, that I, who is always trustworthy, have screwed up. Big time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're getting there ;)


	21. Never Tell Me The Odds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry takes a chance.

“Merlin, you know I try to be as polite as possible, always” Harry said. “But what the fuck?”

“Sorry t’ tell ye so late, lad” Merlin replied. “I known for a long time. At least suspected.”

Harry paced around the room. Merlin had seen him restless before. Many times. Harry’s restless pacing was just one of the things he had gotten used to. Yet it bothered Merlin every time, since Harry would only pace around when there was actual danger. Yet right now, there seemed to be none.

“So” Harry stopped in his tracks for a second, looking Merlin straight in the eyes. “You are telling me that this was the actual conversation they had.” Merlin nodded. “You did not modify anything” Harry continued. “It is the original one.”

“Yes” Merlin said, face in an incredibly serious tone which Harry recognized right away. When Merlin had this face on, there was no time for fucking around.

“Fuck” Harry sighed, rubbing his palms against his face. “What the fuck do I do now?”

“Dinnae, lad, never was the one t’ give relationship advice” Merlin replied. “I believe the best ye can do is tell ‘im how ye feel.”

Harry wasn’t sure that would actually work out. Yet he had a plan.

It was already late in the evening when Harry stepped out of his office, having done a lot of paperwork today. He felt glad, really, since he completed most of the tasks Merlin gave him. So right before he decided to call it a night, he knocked on the door of Merlin’s office, hoping the man would be up this late. And, of course, he was, and Harry calmed down a bit as he heard the familiar ‘come in’ sound through the walls.

“Arthur, dinnae expect ye this late” Merlin smiled.

“Please, drop the Arthur thing, you have known me the longest, after all” Harry rolled his eyes.

“I kno’ ye wanna ask for something, ye wouldn’t be so nice otherwise” Merlin replied.

“That is not true” Harry smirked. “I am always very kind to you. I do need to ask a favour this time, though.”

“What is it?” Merlin asked, not surprised at all.

“I’m asking you to give me a day off. The day after tomorrow. Tuesday, I believe” Harry said, seemingly flushed.

“Uh-huh” Merlin contemplated. “Giving ye a day off at that specific time… Are ye sure yer the only one who’s gonna need that day off?”

“I cannot possibly ask you for more…” Harry started.

“Eggsy’s gunna have a day off on that Tuesday, too. Good luck, Arthur” Merlin grinned.

Harry got home that night, feeling uneasy. Even after seeing the footage of the conversation Eggsy and Norman shared. Norman got straight to the point, but what bothered Harry is that Eggsy didn’t respond. Or at least not in the footage, since they both turned their glasses off after that. He felt worried. What if Merlin was wrong? What if Eggsy didn’t share his feelings? He had known for quite a while that what he felt for Eggsy was more than just protectiveness and mentorship. It took a while to admit it to himself, and it also took a long time, during his traininings, that he could accept the fact that Eggsy would never want to be with him. So he looked the boy in the eyes each day, let him help the old Harry get back on track, but he was always careful to not let any emotion show on his face. He knew better than that. He knew Eggsy was young, in his late 20s, and he would never want anyone as old and broken a Harry. When his eyelids finally fell shut in his bed that night, Harry was thinking about the fact that he was just might about to screw up the best thing in his life.

The next morning, after his usual routine, he arrived at the HQ, earlier than ever.

“What happened to ye” Merlin laughed. “Ye learned the importance of being punctual overnight?”

“Not really, I just slept rather uneasy” Harry replied, ignoring the other man’s looks. “Is there any important matter I need to tend to today?”

“Yes, there is” Merlin nodded. “We been followin’ a weapons ring fer a few years, before all of this happened” he gestured around. Harry knew what he meant. Doomsday. “They were off the radar for a while, so I thought they were gone.” The painting on the wall of Merlin’s office changed, showing the security footage of a woman.

“This is one of their employees who just turned up at the LaGUardia airport in New York” Merlin continued.” I refuse te believe she’s innocent. She was one of the most heavily involved. When the ring disappeared, our facial recognition trackers showed nothing fer years. And now she’s back.”

“I see” Harry said, processing all the information. “So you want me to track her down and question her?”

“Nonsense” Merlin replied. “I want ye t’ get Lancelot and Bors this information. They’ll be handling this mission. I promised ye a day off, after all.”

After Harry gave all the information to Lancelot and Bors, he hurried back to his office. He completed all the tasks he had yesterday, so he turned his laptop on to do some research of this weapons ring. He’d never heard of them, but he wasn’t surprised; it was the good old Bedivere’s task to track them down before… Well, before everything. So he dumped his head right into the deep waters of the internet, looking for any possible information to find out about the ring, so that maybe he could give some useful additions to the case file and make the other agents’ job easier.

After what it seemed like years of going through a hundred web pages, his stomach made a loud noise, so he decided it was time to get something for lunch. The old cafeteria was basically remade; they had a professional chef to cook for them at the HQ. It was Kingsman, after all. The agents either ate with someone when they got the chance or just sat there by themselves, either way, the food was extremely delicious each time. Harry was hoping he could eat alone on this fine Monday afternoon. But when he walked in to the cafeteria (which was assembled in a rather elegant style; comfortable chairs, four of them, surrounding each little round table) he saw Eggsy and Norman, sitting, having a conversation. Norman was the first to notice him, and not too much to Harry’s surprise, he excused himself right away.

“I got a lot of work to do” Harry heard him say to Eggsy. “Also I started lunch way before you did. I believe I must be free to go" Norman joked.

“‘Kay, bruv, see you around" Harry heard Eggsy say, just as he signalled for the waiter to bring him a tray of food.

“Would you mind if I took a seat?” He asked politely as he reached the table Eggsy was sitting by.

“For fuck’s sake, Haz, of course you can” Eggsy replied. “Been wondering where you are, anyways.”

Harry had to work real hard to hold back a smile. He loved that even though Eggsy tried his best to get rid of his accent when he was around other agents (except for Roxy and Merlin, of course), he didn’t even give it a second thought when he was with Harry. He just seemed to let it all out.

The waiter came around with Harry’s food. As Harry noticed right away, Eggsy was only at his soup, too. The boy must have gotten here just a few minutes before him.

“Thank you” Harry said to the waiter, then he turned to Eggsy. “Are you doing alright, my boy?” He began. “I haven’t talked to you properly for a long time and I was really concerned.”

“‘m okay” Eggsy replied, seeming distracted.

“Were you injured on the last mission?” Harry couldn’t help but ask. “I wanted to visit you, but you were out of the room as soon as you woke up, if I’m correct.”

“Just a few scratches, nothin’ bad” Eggsy answered. “Really, ‘arry, ‘m fine” he claimed again, as he saw the worried look on Harry’s face.

“Alright” Harry said as the waiter came around to take their plates. They sat in silence for what felt like an eternity until the waiter came back around, bringing their second dish. No one else was in sight. One of the rare moments these days, when he got to spend some time with Eggsy without the boy running away. It was now or never.

“Would you care to join me for dinner tonight?” Harry asked, seemingly calm, but his heart beating a lot faster than it should have.

“Yeah, sounds good” Eggsy replied nonchalantly, slicing a piece of meat in half on his plate.

“By that, I mean a restaurant. Not our usual, but long-missed dinners at my house.” Harry added. He felt terrified of how Eggsy would respond.

“Gosh, Haz, you’re making it sound like issa fancy date or somethin’” Eggsy laughed, but suddenly, the smile vanished from his face. “It is somethin’ like that, innit?”

“You decide” Harry said, standing up from his seat. “I plan to pick you up at 7, is that okay?”

“Yeah, ‘s fine” Eggsy replied quietly, looking down at his tray.

Harry walked back to his office, feeling glad, yet utterly confused at the same time. It felt as if Eggsy was still trying to avoid him. But the boy said yes to an actual date. He sat down in his chair, hands folded behind his head, feet on the table. He had a night to plan, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay one disclaimer I forgot to add in the past few chapters: Eggsy and Tilde did happen in this fic, as you could see, and I honestly fucking love them together in the movies and I have no problem with them. they're really cute. but i made it a past thing, since this is a hartwin fic. anyway, hope you all enjoyed :)
> 
> (also, if you've made it this far, congratulations, you're about to get the hartwin content you deserve very soon.)


	22. First Of Many

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finally go on a date. :)
> 
> Slow burn remains, though.

Harry sent a short text to Merlin, telling him he’s doing fine, but informing him that he left to get home at only 4AM. It was unusually early for him to go home. Merlin replied with an emoji Harry didn’t quite want to understand.

When he got home, he realized he still had a few hours to spare. He decided to get in the shower and have some time for himself. It was only half past five when he got out from his bath. He decided it was time to get dressed anyway; only one and a half hours to go. So he opened his closet, focusing especially on the side which held the suits he only wore on special occasions. Like missions that required him to dress up, like the times he went undercover and attended lavish parties. He chose to put on a suit he’d never worn before. He had it made a few years ago, for a mission that got cancelled. It was one of his favorite suits, though. Differing from his usual plain suits, this one was embroidered with thin golden patterns, making it look rather unique. He put on a simple black tie with the Kingsman logo shining in gold on it, matching his outfit. He felt calm while dressing up. He walked downstairs and went over the plans in his mind once again.

The panic only set in once he locked the door of his home behind him. Okay, he knew the restaurant he wanted to take Eggsy to. But he didn’t have any other plans. Standing in the cold, thinking of good dare ideas, he almost started to reminisce about his own past again, but suddenly, he remembered a detail about Eggsy that the boy had told him. He opened the door back up and rushed to his office and unlocked his laptop to get his brand new plan on track.

It was a quarter past six when the car he ordered rolled in in front of his home. Not the usual Kinsman cabs this time, but one of his favorite old timers the agency possessed, which fortunately didn’t get blown up; the Aston Martin DB5, in a rare matte black paint. Kingsman sure as hell had some incredibly amazing cars, but this was Harry’s personal favorite. When the original driver got up and saluted him, getting in to a Kingsman taxi driven by another employee, Harry opened the door of the car and noticed a bouquet of flowers laying on the passenger’s seat. Just as he had asked: a mix of Calla Lilies, Lilacs and Asters. He picked them very carefully by the meaning associated with each type. They also smelled really great.

At 7:02, he rolled in with the car in front of Eggsy and his family’s house. He took a deep breath and grabbed the bouquet. He adjusted his tie so it lined up perfectly with his suit. He felt the cool air hitting his face as he got out of the vehicle, his heart beating rapidly. He walked up to the door and stopped right in his tracks as he approached the doorbell. This is it. Now or never. Either Eggsy answers the door, or he pretends he never heard Harry’s remarks at the cafeteria and leaves him out in the chilly weather. Harry made it quite obvious it was going to be a date. There was no answer from behind the door, though. As he rang the bell for the second time, Harry started feeling dumb. Of course Eggsy wouldn’t want to date him. The boy was young and extremely good looking, maybe even simply heterosexual, and Harry must have read the signs wrong. Maybe Merlin was wrong. Maybe-

He almost finished his train of thought before the door opened. It wasn’t Eggsy, though. It was his mum, with an apron on, the smell of a somewhat burnt dinner covering the air.

“Daisy, luv, it’s fine, I’m almost done” she said, waving away the wave of steam from her face. “Hello, Harry, so good to see you” she smiled. “Eggsy’s s’posed to be done in a few minutes. You can sit down, if you like.”

So Harry walked in, following Michelle through the entrance hall, right into the dining room.

“Harry! Harry!” As soon as she noticed Harry, Daisy got up from the couch and ran straight into Harry’s arms.

“Hello, princess” Harry smiled, spinning the little girl around. “Do you have any idea where your brother is?”

“Upstairs” Daisy grinned. “Gonna get him” she added as she ran to the stairs.

Harry stood there for a few seconds, unsure of what to do. He’s been here, in this house, many times, yet this time everything seemed different. He wasn’t even sure Eggsy had told Michelle about the date. A wave of panic sent shivers down Harry’s body.

“Gosh, finally Daisy could see you” Michelle said, stepping out of the kitchen with a bowl of food in her hands. “After Eggsy mentioned you would be picking him up tonight, she’s been restless.”

Harry smiled politely.

“It’s okay” Michelle said, reading the smile on Harry's face. “Just make sure you’re treatin' him well.”

Harry was taken aback by that comment. He wanted to ask Michelle if she felt okay with it all. That he was taking Eggsy out on a date. He wanted to ask so many things.

“You know?” He mastered out instead. Good fucking job, Harry. You could’ve said anything else.

“I’ve made some bad decisions” Michele said, looking away. “Terrible ones. I’m ashamed of them, every day.”

Harry had to look away, too. He’d heard a little of what these terrible decisions had caused to someone he loved dearly.

“But I remember the one time I made the right call” Michelle continued. “It was when I married Lee.”

Harry’s stomach dropped. He remembered Lee all too well. The man became a dear friend to him before everything happened, after all.

“I remember how I looked at him, when I realized I loved him” the woman added. Harry finally looked back at her, only to notice a soft smile on her lips. “I see that look in your eyes. That’s why I’m okay with it.”

Before Harry could answer, Daisy stormed down the stairs, laughing, launching herself into Harry’s arms once again.

“Eggsy looks like a prince” she grinned, pointing at the top of the stairs.

Harry looked in that direction, eyes catching Eggsy right away. The boy was wearing a navy blue suit, looking as insanely handsome as ever. His hair was slicked back, his Oxfords matching up perfectly with his look. Harry’s heart skipped a beat. Eggsy walked down the stairs, awkwardly standing next to Harry, who decided to leave the bouquet in the entrance hall. Looking back, he was glad. It was way too intimate to give that to Eggsy in front of Michelle and Daisy.

“You two have fun” Michelle smiled as she lured them out to the entrance hall, closing the door behind them. A few seconds of silence followed. They were standing really close, and for a moment, Harry let himself get lost in Eggsy’s eyes, before he remembered the bouquet on the small table in the hall. He quickly made his way over to retrieve it.

“I got this for you, dear boy” he handed the flowers over to Eggsy. The young man blushed, matching the colors of some of the flowers.

“Thank you, ‘arry” Eggsy replied, still red in the cheeks.

“Let’s get to the car, shall we?” Harry said as he gently took Eggsy by the arms, leading him out the front door of the house. As soon as they stepped out into the chilly air of the night, Harry could feel the younger man at his side ease his shoulders.

“So, we takin’ a cab?” Eggsy asked, grinning.

“Nonsense” Harry shook his head. “We’re going by car. Now, you might want to get in, since I believe it is very cold.” Harry gestured to the car parking just a few inches from the sidewalk.

“Holy shit, ‘arry, you serious?” Eggsy exclaimed when he noticed the extravagant car Harry was pointing to. Instead of replying, Harry just clicked the button on his keys to open the car, and made his way over to the driver’s seat with a satisfied grin. Eggsy’s weight added slowly to his as the boy uncertainly sank into the passenger’s seat, still unsure if this was real. Harry started the car and took off, smiling smugly.

“Where we goin, anyways?” Eggsy asked after a few minutes of silent driving, still holding the bouquet of flowers close to his chest. Harry had to think for a while.

“Remember when you told me that you used to sneak in to the National Theatre, because a friend of your mother’s worked there?” Harry ignored Eggsy’s surprised face. “I know there was a show you always wished to see” he finished as he pulled up in front of the theatre. He quickly got out of the car and hurried over to Eggsy’s side to open the door for the boy. As soon as they both were out, Harry passed the keys to a nearby valet boy, obviously an undercover Kingsman staff member.

“May I?” Harry asked unsure, but as Eggsy nodded, he took the boy by the arm. After retrieving their tickets, they made their way to the reserved section on the balcony. Eggsy was in awe already, probably being his first time on a theatre-date. Harry smiled, knowing the boy will be even happier once the show started. He covered Eggsy’s eyes at all the places he could realize what the play was while they made their way to their seats. They sat in comfortable silence while waiting for the play to start, Eggsy basically bouncing out of his seat.

The lights went down suddenly and Harry felt the most anxious, contemplating whether or not this was the right idea. But as the opening notes to Jesus Christ Superstar broke through the quiet hum of the crowd, he could feel Eggsy grab his hands. He looked over to the boy, well into the opening song, seeing tears in Eggsy’s eyes. He squeezed the younger man’s hands, mouthing “It’s okay” and smiling at him softly. After a few minutes, Eggsy finally took his eyes off of Harry and paid attention to the show.

As the play ended, Eggsy looked at Harry once again, even though he hadn’t let go of Harry’s hands in the past two hours.

“I don’t remember tellin’ you” Eggsy whispered as they waited for the crowd to make their way to the entrance.

“You mentioned once” Harry replied. “Once in a training. We talked about theatre pieces. You said that you always wanted to watch Jesus Christ Superstar since the soundtrack was your favorite, but by the time they were playing it in London again, Dean came around and you never had the chance.”

They came to a stop when they finally made it out of the crowd.

“You remembered” Eggsy stared up at Harry like the older man meant everything in the world. Harry could basically say Eggsy’s eyes were shining at that moment.

“Of course I did” Harry smiled. They were dangerously close, standing at the bottom of the stairs of the theatre. “I do remember something else, though” Harry said before he could get carried away. He waved his hands and a pitch black cab pulled up next to them.

The ride was, of course, rather long, since Harry knew exactly where they were going. Eggsy was sitting by his side at the cab, eyes still focused on Harry.

“Don’t know how to thank you enough” Eggsy started. "It must've been crazy hart to get the tickets."

“You don’t have to” Harry interrupted. “You agreed to the date, after all.”

It was a brave statement, saying out loud that it was a date. Of course it had been obvious, but saying it out loud made a huge difference. It made it official. Instead of replying, Eggsy shuffled closer to Harry on the backseat, placing his head to rest on Harry’s collarbone. Harry felt like this night could just simply not get any better. He grinned to himself at the statement Eggsy made about the tickets. No, it wasn't hard at all to get them for a Kingsman agent.

As the cab pulled in to a parking spot, Eggsy raised his head and a soft laugh escaped his lips.

“You serious?” He asked.

“As ever” Harry replied as he stepped out of the cab, hurrying to the other side, once again helping Eggsy out of the car.

“‘s not your kind of place, y’know” Eggsy murmured as he took Harry’s army, walking up to the bar in front of them.

“You have no idea what is my kind of place and what is not” Harry said, teasing, but still in a soft tone. “You have only seen me in a few bars. Not as many as I have been to.”

Eggsy didn’t have the time to reply as Harry pushed the door of The Falcon open.

It was Eggsy’s favorite place; not too far from where he grew up and lived for a long time, but not too close either. He mentioned this place to Harry many times while he told the older man about his reckless stories of his childhood. Harry remembered all of it. He felt like this was a special place to go to.

It was Eggsy’s time to take the lead as he guided Harry towards his favorite place; a table in the back that was a little out of the way, the only people having to come around here were the ones that had to use the toilet. Harry took his seat, but Eggsy remained at his feet.

“I’ll go order” he stated. “You hungry?”

“Starving” Harry replied. “But I'm willing to trust you with that order. You’ve told me a lot about the food in this place.”

Eggsy smirked and made his way over to the counter to order. He returned with two glasses filled with Guinness.

“I thought you were going to order food” Harry remarked.

“Thought I was calling the shots this time ‘round” Eggsy added, placing the two glasses of beer on the table. “We have cabs, don’t we?”

“Yes, we do” Harry raised his glass.

After a few minutes spent with drinking and small talk, the bartender finally brought their food around.

“So you ordered fish and chips” Harry stated.

“You look disappointed” Eggsy laughed. “Not like ‘tis was the only dish I been telling you about for months.”

“I’m not disappointed at all” Harry shot back. “In fact? I’m pleasantly surprised. I didn’t think you would be one to order fish and chips on the first date.”

“First?” Eggsy asked immediately. Harry looked up and saw the younger boy flustered, regretting the question.

“First of many, if you want to” Harry took his hand. “But we shall eat before our food gets cold.”

Eggsy seemed to agree with that right away.

Even though they finished their food, they remained sitting in the bar, drinking a few more beers. Harry loved the fact that Eggsy ordered each round, all of them being a Guinness for Harry, since the younger boy remembered it was his favorite. After a few rounds of beer, though, Eggsy seemed to get a bit tired, so Harry shook his arms carefully.

“Do you want me to call a cab?” He asked. Eggsy nodded.

A few minutes later Harry helped the tired Eggsy up from his seat and they walked to the cab already parked in front of the pub. The ride home was silent. They agreed they should drop Harry off first, since the route was more convenient that way. Sitting in the backseat, so close to each other, Harry wondered what Eggsy thought about their night. Harry didn’t push any physical interactions, since he didn’t want Eggsy to feel like he was obligated to do anything. He wanted the boy to be comfortable. And he seemed as such, since they had an easy conversation in the pub, talking about funny moments on missions, discussing the play they’d just seen, sharing inside jokes, making each other laugh. The atmosphere was great, and Harry came to the conclusion that he sure as hell had a good time. He was scared, though, that Eggsy didn’t enjoy it that much and he was just pretending to do so. Suddenly, he felt a head rest on his shoulder and a cold hand making its way into his warm palms. He sighed, relieved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, longer than my usual chapters, innit?
> 
> Anyway, sorry for posting this so late. Me and my boyfriend moved all our things back to our apartment (since we spent quarantine at my parents' place) and he is starting his job, I'm writing articles for a human rights NGO I'm interning at. Also we're getting a dog in 1-2 weeks and I'm in the middle of my exam season. So life is pretty wild again, but I will try to keep this fic updated regularly since it's my favorite thing I've ever written.
> 
> Hope y'all liked this chapter!


	23. Black Little Shapes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry gets a visit from Roxy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very short chapter again :) But i guess it's just my writing style. Gotta embrace it.

Harry woke the next morning with the realization that he was supposed to have this day off. Merlin and him both calculated in the fact that Eggsy was going to sleep at his place. Yet when Harry got out of the cab the night before, Eggsy just smiled, tired, and said “Have a good night, Haz”. And Harry walked back to his apartment, opened the door, took his shoes and jacket off, then he undressed and went to bed. Only in the morning he realized what had happened. Eggsy rejected him. He knew he didn’t make the offer for Eggsy to stay the night, yet Eggsy didn’t even text him as he usually would after getting home. Harry felt his stomach drop. He quickly got out of bed, putting his burgundy robes on. He pressed the button on his phone, which called Merlin, by memory. The man picked up after many, many rings.

“Ah, Harry, lad” Merlin started “Thought ye would be sleepin’ ‘til late.”

“The fact that I am calling at this time would state otherwise” Harry replied dryly. Merlin was silent for a few seconds.

“Did ye screw up last night?” He asked.

“I don't think so. I’m going in today, though.” Harry ignored Merlin’s grunt and hung up.

An hour later he arrived at the HQ. He rushed to his office right away, limiting human interactions in any way he could. Once he got there, he made sure to close the door as he took his coat off. He sat down by his table and put his face in his palms. What was he thinking? There was literally no sign from Eggsy’s side that suggested the boy would like him back. Harry wondered why the hell he tried in the first place. He was old, beat down, barely back from the dead. Eggsy was half his age, quick, lively and with so much ahead of him. Perfect skills, define movements, fast thinking. Harry had too many issues to feel worthy of love from someone like Eggsy. He lifted his face from his hands and tried to focus. There was a file on his table, the report from Roxy’s last mission. He opened the binder and tried to take in the information. Yet no matter how hard he tried to concentrate, the words dripped away and merged into a heavy, dark steam of ink on the paper. Little shapes started to take form in the black sea. The figures had wings. Tiny black butterflies. Harry’s head snapped up as a knock on his door broke his train of thoughts. His vision was a little blurry, but he could register the faint thumps coming from the door. Probably Merlin.

“Come in” he said as he tried to recompose himself.

“Excuse me, Artur, sorry, I mean Harry.” Roxy’s voice sounded from the entrance. “May I talk to you?”

Harry was a little surprised. “Yes, of course” he said anyway. “Take a seat.”

Roxy locked the door behind her and sat in one of the guest chairs. She looked tired, and Harry wasn’t surprised; Roxy was basically Merlin’s right hand woman at this point, from the beginning of the rebuilding she helped in everything Merlin had to deal with. But still Harry wondered what did he owe to this occasion of Roxy wanting to talk to him in private.

The answer came just a few seconds before he gained enough courage to ask a question.

“Merlin told me you and Eggsy were out yesterday” Roxy spoke very carefully. “I just wanted to clear up any confusion before it gets uncomfortable” she continued. Harry had a slight idea of where this was going.

“I do not really expect you to-” he started, but Roxy cut in.

“With all due respect, Harry, I think I do have to” the look on the woman’s face was so serious that Harry wouldn’t even dare to interrupt. “I would just like you to know that Eggsy has been my best friend since we started our training. Nothing more, nothing less. I am actually seeing a girl myself.”

Harry smiled. “And who is the lucky lady?” He asked.

“Remember Amelia?” Roxy replied. Harry’s stomach crunched a little. Of course he remembered. Amelia enlisted as a Kingsman, yet her extremely insane amount of knowledge in the technology sector made them pretty sure that they needed that woman in the tech department. So they faked her death at the water test. Harry remembered the test too well. He remembered watching the live footage in the HQ, crossing his fingers and hoping for the best. And as he watched Eggsy swim for the doors, he could, right in that moment, swear his heart skipped several beats.

“Turn it off” he told Merlin. “Turn the water off” he repeated after Eggsy started swimming towards the rest of the candidates. But Merlin ignored his pleas.

“You know the rules” the man replied. “I wish I could turn-” but right in that moment, Eggsy reached the mirror, grabbed on the closest thing he could find, and launched both his feet to action. Harry could see the confusion on the face of the rest of the candidates.

“Yes!” Harry shouted. “My boy!” He exclaimed, not even noticing the look the other agents gave him.

“Harry!” He snapped back to the present, hearing Roxy’s voice once again.

“Terribly sorry, Roxy, I believe I lost focus for a moment.”

“It’s okay” Roxy flashed a soft, empathetic smile. Harry knew this smile too well. He’s been getting it a lot since Kentucky. “I was just saying that I talked to Eggsy this morning. He said he had a really good time with you. He’s just not sure about the pace you want to take. Your recovery is more important to him than anything else.”

Harry looked at the wall and smiled in surprise. Eggsy cared about him that much, huh?

“Thank you for telling me that, Roxy” he said, turning back. “Anything else?”

“Just the report of my last mission” she replied. “Merlin already put it in a file. It went well. Tristan and I located a small weapon ring in Ukraine. Took them down easily.”

“Good work” Harry nodded. “I’m proud of you.”

“Save that talk for your boy. And by the way, Harry, to drop the formalities even more for a sec, Eggsy is my best friend, so if you hurt him, I break your neck” Roxy grinned, then got up from her seat and left the room.

Harry sat in silence for a few minutes, his panic almost entirely gone. He grinned at Roxy's comment. He knew she coud break his neck if she wanted. So maybe Eggsy didn’t reject him yesterday. Maybe he was just confused. And Harry had to admit, he was confused, too. Looking back, he wasn’t even sure how he would’ve reacted if things got more intimate between him and Eggsy. He’d never been in a proper relationship before. And starting off with Eggsy staying the night might have been too much. He realized he was so caught up in the fear of rejection, he hadn’t even noticed he wasn’t ready for anything like that.

Finally feeling calm, he picked up the file again. Only then he noticed a little post-it note on his desk, right next to his laptop. The note read: ‘Sorry for not texting you last night, Dais waited up for me and I had to put her to bed. Fell asleep next to her. I had a good time. Would like to do this again if you’re in. -E’ Harry failed to contain the smile spreading on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well call me Harry Hart because I'm BACK from the dead!! I didn't forget about this fic, we just got a puppy with my bf and it's a busy thing, being a dog mom. Also I ran out of inspiration. ALSO I'm trying out this new thing called 'writing my fanfics completely sober'. So yeah, life is constantly a mess. But hope y'all enjoyed!

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave kudos and comments! :)


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